The Niall Mellon Township Trust was established in 2002 to provide homes to the impoverished communities in the townships in South Africa. We believe in a world where every person lives in a home which enables them to develop to their fullest potential.

In the first year of operation we built 150 homes and this year we will build 7000 homes for some of South Africa’s poorest people. None of this would be possible, however, without the widespread generosity and support that we have received from the Irish people.

Most people will have heard of our building “Blitz”, where volunteers from Ireland raise money and travel to South Africa to build houses in the townships. In November of 2007, we had our biggest blitz to date with 203 houses being built in one week by 1380 volunteers - the biggest number of volunteers ever to leave the island of Ireland! This year, however, we plan to surpass this figure and bring 2000 volunteers on our 2008 Building Blitz.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Because of the enormous support and interest our volunteers have generated, we now have a workforce of over 1,700 South Africans building homes all year round. Last year they built approximately 4800 which, when added to the total built by the 1380 volunteers, brings the annual figure to 5000 houses in total.

The charity is heavily involved in training and up-skilling its South African workforce which is a further integral part of the charity’s
ethos. Most of the workforce come from the townships themselves.

Community development is an integral part of the work of the NMTT engaging local communities in the planning and design of the new communities. All of this is done in close cooperation and partnership with the South African government at national and local level.

Motivated by the poverty levels he saw first hand in the townships, Niall Mellon set up the Niall Mellon Township Trust in 2002. Little did he know that from such small beginnings in one township in Cape Town- Imazimo Yethu, the charity would grow to the size that it has today. The charity is now based in 10 townships in the Western Cape and 13 townships in Gauteng.

Though the charity has only been in existence for 6 years, the NMTT is the largest provider of low cost homes in South Africa, producing 20% of low cost homes in Cape Town and 15% of houses in the Gauteng region. Since 2002, over 3000 volunteers have travelled to work with us in our projects in South Africa.

The price of housing a family in these South African Townships is €7,000. Are you in the position to partly or wholly fund the housing of a South African family?

It is a very special feeling to know that you have contributed to enabling these township people to better achieve their potential by putting a secure roof over their head and protecting them from such hazards as wind, rain and shack fires.

For more information see the Charity website www.irishtownship.com