The building project is the brainchild of a remarkable man called Niall Mellon. Three years ago, he organised 100 volunteers to go to South Africa and they built 30 houses in a week. Last year about 350 went and completed 50 houses. This year the target was to build 100 houses.
For me personally the most striking aspect was the abject poverty in which the people were living, in the township. It's hard to describe because you wouldn't see anything like it here. Two or three families were literally living in two room shacks with no sanitation, no sewage or running water. They had either limited or no power whatsoever. Some families do get electricity but it's obtained illegally from the grid. They are cut off and then re-connect themselves; it's a constant battle.
We were broken up into teams with a mix of brickeys, plasterers, general labourers and odds and sods like me! You really could be working with anyone: builders, barristers, marketing consultants - you name it. We also had some celebrities amongst our group, including Chris Eubank, the former world champion middleweight boxer and Des Cahill the sports journalist. Sean Fitzpatrick the ex Chief Executive of the Anglo Irish Bank was also working with us. That said, there was absolutely no hierarchy, you just mucked in and got on with the job.
The plan was that an advanced group of 200 would initially begin the work and then our larger group of 500 would arrive and continue. Things went well in the first week with about 40 houses up to the roof level. Well that is, until the notoriously destructive wind, (known locally as the Cape Doctor becuase it blows so hard that it clears pollutants from the air around the city), became part of the challenge. Over 30 houses were destroyed in one night. In the second week, three more houses that I was working on were blown down. The next morning we faced devastation and I can tell you a few tears were shed. Part of the problem was down to mortar that we were using, which is slower setting but more economical. However everyone knuckled down and got on with it. The vast majority also gave up what had been intended as a final day off to repair the damage. In the end, not only did we reach our target, but we successfully built 106 brand new houses.
When you first arrive in the township you are overwhelmed by the poverty and the desperate living conditions. In Imizamo Yethu there were around 14,000 people living in shacks in an area about twice the size of St. Stephens Green. Despite this what really struck me was the wonderful spirit of the people - the children in particlaur. They are so full of life, so respectful and humble, although they have so little. A common sight was to see small black children clinging to the hands of burly builders. It's like they adopt you for a week. Within a few minutes of my being there a 7 year old boy clasped my hand and stayed alongside me for the whole wek, playing and watching how things were going. The children are just fantastic.
Probably the saddest aspect of my visit was to see the shocking incidence of HIV/Aids. It is like a generation of 30 to 45 year olds are missing. The number of children we met whose parents have been lost to this disease is shocking. We were told that one possible symptom of children with HIV/Aids is a runny nose. The kids are around you, playing and singing all the time and i'd say 3 or 4 out of every ten had that symptom. It really was heart-rending and brings home just how cruel this epidemic really is.
Despite 12 hour a day shifts, blistering heat and sore bodies I would describe this experience as "life chnaging". I not only had the opportunity to help change people's lives for the better, but also had the huge satisfaction of meeting the actual families themselves and watching them move into their new homes. One such family, Patience Magwaca and her three children were absolutely thrilled! The 34 year old had been living in awful conditions in the township for the past 10 years, in a state of fear for her childrens lives. " This is my dream come true" said a tearful Patience. "I'm so excited because it will make such a difference to have a toilet, electricity and clean, running water. Now I feel safe."
