Best Roadhouse This Side of Austin - Irish American News

June 2008 IRISH AMERICAN NEWS 17New Irish-American Partnership for Building Blitz in South AfricaIrish developer Niall Mellon recentlylaunched a campaign to recruitvolunteers from the U.S. to participatein a housing building program inCape Town, South Africa from November28 to December 6, 2008.The groundbreaking partnershipaims to bring over 2000 volunteersfrom the U.S. and Ireland to theKhayelitsha township, located approximately25 miles outside CapeTown. Meaning Xhosa for “our newhome,” Khayelitsha is one of theyoungest and biggest townships in theCape Flats area. The Blitz will takeplace at the overcrowded Site C, theoldest part of the township with onlya few decent houses in the area.In one week, volunteers will buildmore than 250 houses, as well as a communitycenter, and a Garden of Hope.An additional 550 houses will be builtduring the year by township residentstrained in the construction trade.The sixth annual Building Blitzprogram is well underway with Irishvolunteers, including more than1,300 construction workers, alreadyraising funds in Ireland to participatein the event. Each volunteer mustraise $8,000, which covers flight, accommodation,and construction costsfor the houses. The Township Trustcovers administrative costs.Since 2002, NMTT has built nearly5,000 houses in 10 townships in theWestern Cape and 13 townships inGauteng, with 21,235 township adultsand children moving into new homesin 2007 alone. The organization alsoworks alongside the South Africangovernment to install running waterand sanitation facilities and to providechildren with a safe place to study anda dry place to keep their school booksand uniforms. In addition, thousandsof job opportunities have been createdfor township residents who havegraduated the NMTT constructiontrade training program.2008 volunteers, mainly from Ireland,the U.S., and other countries, includingEngland, Wales, France, Germany, theNetherlands, Italy, Finland, Lithuaniaand Australia, will participate in theBlitz. More than 1800 Irish volunteershave already been recruited, including710 “veteran” volunteers who participatedin past efforts. Approximately 80percent of the Irish volunteers aretrades people, representing a wide varietyof skills from carpentry to blocklaying. The remaining 20% will comefrom a diverse range of backgrounds,faiths, and professions.“Apartheid is over, but its legacy—homelessness—remains,” says PaddyMaguiness, Worldwide CEO of theTownship Trust. “The South Africa governmenthas built over 2 million housesfor the poor since the fall of apartheid.Despite this achievement nearly 2.5million people still live in shacks. Thispartnership adds a new dimension toexisting efforts to change the directionof housing and poverty alleviation effortsin Africa and, by partnering withour friends across the Atlantic, we canmake a real difference.”Many elected and governmentofficials welcome the effort to bringAmericans on board, including HouseSpeaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate MajorityLeader Harry Reid, CongressmanCharles Rangel, CongresswomanCarolyn Kilpatrick, the CongressionalBlack Caucus, and prominentfaith leaders, including Dioceseof Washington Rev. John BrysonChange. Nobel Laureate ArchbishopDesmond Tutu and former SouthAfrican President Nelson Mandelaalso support the initiative.To learn more aboutthe Building Blitz,visit www.youtube.com and typein “Niall MellonTownship Trust.”