Building Blitz March 09

Niall Mellon Building Blitz - March 2009

Margaret & Elaine's Account

Introduction

We have been very fortunate to have the opportunity to visit South Africa and see two very different sides of life.

Having completed the building project we travelled through the luscious winelands north of Cape Town and we could not but think that on the other side of the mountains there was a completely different life…

Let us take you into the township Mbekweni and experience at first hand our impression of what life is like there and the difference your contribution has made.

It struck me that our history is contained in the homes we live in, that we are shaped by the ability of these simple structures to resist being defiled.
Achmat Dangor
Kafka’s Curse

We encourage you to read on…



First Impressions

Our first glimpse of a township came very early in our stay. As you head away from the airport you pass Khayelitsha, one of the largest townships in Cape Town. The houses built by the NMTT are dotted throughout the township and are easily identified by their red roofs and solar panels.

As you pass by, you get a sense of the cramped, haphazard conditions of the township.

[Did you know that out of a population of approximately 50 million, 8 million people live in shacks?]

Our initial reaction is “how can people live in such a place?”. Later in the week we get to see first hand what these conditions are really like and are overwhelmed with a belief that no human being should have to live like this.

Our First Day

On our first day in Cape Town we are brought on a walking visit of Imizamo Yethu or IY (which means “through collective struggle”). This is the township where Niall Mellon brought 150 Irish people to start building houses 7 years ago.

Try to picture the setting … We drive 20 minutes or so from Cape Town along the coast, passing really beautiful scenery and white sandy beaches. We arrive in an area that is very hilly, IY is situated here, surrounded by villas.

The townspeople were very receptive and it was immediately obvious the great respect and gratitude they have for Niall Mellon and the project. This was reinforced all through the week when we spoke with local people!

We were greeted by locals singing and kids waving. We walked through the township passing both houses and shacks.

We were very slow to take pictures, believing we were intruding, although encouraged by our guide to do so. We were flanked by a plain clothes security guard, although we did not feel threatened in any way. The level of security became more obvious as the week progressed.

In the township you get a sense of community.

It has its own businesses such as a barber, tv repair shop and a guy selling cooked sheeps' heads!

The children we met were very excited to see us and willingly posed for photos. Thanks to digital cameras we were able to show them the results – much to their delight! It is amazing that with little or no facilities such as a washing machine the kids were so well turned out. They seemed to be very happy.

While people did not appear to be hungry, for those living in the shacks their living conditions seemed appalling with no running water, open drains, shared toilets.

Our Team

The 500 Irish volunteers were split into a number of teams, each distinguished by a colour. We were on the “Maroon” team. Our team consisted of 41 Irish volunteers (some tradespeople – the majority had no trade but made up for this with their enthusiasm), 4 people from Wales and 23 South African tradespeople.

The overall project target was to complete 75 houses in the township of Mbekweni and each team had a target of completing 8 houses.

There was great team spirit because we had a common goal to achieve. We all worked well together (making good friends as the week progressed) and had good craic while getting the job done.

Our team managed to complete an extra house – nine in total!



The Site

Mbekweni is situated a hour's drive north of Cape Town in the winelands region of Paarl.

It is located in a valley surrounded by foreboding mountains. At times the temperature reached 36 degrees.

Below you can see the site map. The blocks marked with a colour are the houses worked on during the week.

Our team’s building site consisted of a team house (where we had our breaks and stored equipment, etc.) and 20 house plots with construction at various stages of completion.

A road ran through our site along which the local people and children travelled.

On the site the number of security guards was very obvious – this was a little unnerving but reassuring at the same time.

Our Daily Routine

Each day our routine was similar. Up at 5.45 am – you might think that was difficult but it was not - everyone was motivated to get to the site to get through the work. We left the hotel at 7 am, arrived on site about 8 am and got to work, taking up from the previous day.

On our first day at the site (Saturday) Paddy our foreman allocated jobs to each team member and everyone got to work (after we had our photo taken for the local newspaper!). As you can imagine we were a little unsure about what to expect – never having been on a building site before.

This was our first time to go into the actual houses. They are around 40 sq metres in size, consist of a living/kitchen area, 2 small bedrooms and a bathroom with a toilet, shower and sink. The exterior and interior walls are brick. They have running water and electricity. The houses are roofed, insulated and a solar panel is installed. The exterior of the houses are plastered and then painted as are the ceilings, door frames and windows.



Our tasks varied during the week and included clearing the rubble (bricks, concrete, etc.) from inside and outside the houses that were near completion, pointing (and not just at the men!) and painting the houses.


"A hard day at the office!"

Each afternoon around 4.30 pm, we started to tidy up for the day. All tools and equipment had to be locked away – the risk of theft was very high.

We left the site around 5 pm and returned to Cape Town tired but of course with enough energy for a well earned drink!

In the evening generally people were free to do what they wanted. We had a team night early in the week and of course we got to watch the Grand Slam rugby match.

People swapped their coloured team t-shirts for their Irish jerseys with the exception of the 4 Welsh people on our team!!

A great night was had by all!

On the last night (Friday) we had a wrap-up party. No worries about getting up at 5.45 am the next morning!! In actual fact we were lucky to be home by that time!!

Life in the Township -

A visit to Mbekweni shacks, creche, orphanage and school

The Shacks

Early in the week we visited some shacks and got to meet some of the beneficiaries of the houses we were building. The most striking thing about the women we met was their dignity. They appeared to accept their circumstances without complaint. [Did you know that people in shacks can be on a housing list for many years (e.g. 15 years)? The houses are allocated to people by the local authority and the recipients have to satisfy many eligibility requirements such as having a certain level of income.]

The women looked many years older than their age – mothers looked like grandmothers.



The shacks are constructed from a variety of basic materials, mainly corrugated iron and wooden pallets on the outside and on the inside cardboard.

There are generally two rooms with a communal toilet being shared by up to 6 families. There is no running water. Electricity cables run haphazardly from one shack to another. The ESB equivalent does not exist here! People generally set up their own supply creating a very dangerous environment. Fire is a major concern and often wipes out hundreds of people’s homes in one go – leaving them with nothing.

Inside the shacks it is extremely dark and the heat is stifling. While it was over 30 degrees outside it actually felt cool when you came out of the shack!

The shacks are literally built on top of each other. There are just a few roads. The “pathways” between the shacks are extremely narrow and uneven.

A busy railway line (not closed off) ran close to the shacks at the back of the township. We heard that it was not uncommon for children of the township to commit suicide on this line.

What does this say about the lives of children here?

People in the shacks do have certain things such as TV’s, microwaves and basic cooking facilities but these become insignificant when you experience just how inhumane their living conditions are.

The Crèche

The Thembinkosi crèche is situated beside our building site and is run by a lady called Patricia Vika. The first thing that you notice is the “building” which actually is the equivalent of a freight container. As we arrived the children sang to welcome us. Inside the crèche it was bright but the space was very small. Patricia looks after children from the ages of 0 to 13.

Patricia explained how she started the crèche. While looking after her disabled child other people started dropping off their able and disabled children at her shack. She quickly realised that caring for such children was her passion. In the beginning it was very difficult as she had many set-backs such as her shack being gutted several times by fire and her own child dying because of the heat in her shack.

Patricia believes in the principle of education for all children. She looks after children with disabilities and she teaches parents of disabled children that they should not abandon but cherish these children. We spent some time interacting with the children. They were gorgeous and loved having their photo taken. Initially they were shy but soon were happy to hold hands or be cuddled. As the kids waved us goodbye, their happy faces and the good work Patricia is doing made a lasting impression.

The Orphanage: Bavumeleni (Let them come)

On the day we visited the orphanage, Mirriam Toni (house mother) received a new washing machine! She was so happy. At 38 years of age, she runs an orphanage for 25 children and 45 children at weekends.

Mirriam is a remarkable, strong woman. She is a warm and caring person and believes that her calling comes from God. She spoke from her heart.

She decided to open the children’s home in 2000 after finding an abandoned baby inside a black rubbish bag on her doorstep.

The orphanage building is made up of 3 shacks joined together. There is a small play area.

Mirriam brought us through the rooms explaining how the kids live. The rooms were cramped and the heat was stifling. We saw one of the bedrooms in which 8 children slept but this room could only be used in the summer because of the water that came in when it rained. Mirriam sleeps in one bed with her own 3 children.

Pride of place in the home is the 3 trophies which the children won for football!

Mirriam believes that education is vital for the children.

She encourages them to make jewellery and clothes – not so much to sell these but to help the children to focus.

Part of her teaching is concentrated on when the children get older.

She wants them to get their matric.

When speaking to us, she made a point of saying that she is strongly against sex before marriage and she teaches the children this. She has encountered situations where girls become pregnant, are left to fend for themselves and sometimes abandon or even try to kill their babies.

Security is a major concern for Mirriam. She only sleeps a few hours each night – listening for any sound that might be trouble. This is not surprising after she told us a most horrific story. Previously, she had some men working in the orphanage and one night they returned to the orphanage, broke in and raped 2 of the children.

The volunteers on the Maroon team were extremely moved by our visit to the orphanage. So much so, that we wanted to help in any way possible. A number of electricians from the various teams went to the orphanage at 5 am one morning (before starting work on the site) and rewired the orphanage. Each team made a collection among the volunteers with the result that the orphanage's mortgage was paid off, the orphanage now has a new microwave and computers for the kids and Mirriam will be able to build a new orphanage next year.

The School – Mbekweni Primary School

Our visit to the school was an uplifting experience. We were greeted on our arrival by the children who were singing and who had made banners with “Thank u Irish”. Then each volunteer took a child’s hand and walked into an assembly area where the principal spoke to us about the set-up in the school and the importance of the children’s education.

On average there are 45 children in each class. The children were well dressed in their school uniforms. We got to visit several classes of different grades and the children were happy to show us their work. When we were leaving, the older children sang songs, one of which was “There is hope”.

During the week, each volunteer was given a picture individually drawn by a child in the school. Our pictures were of the school crest (drawn by Andisiwe Kaf) and a frog (drawn by Zona Khalipha).

The Final Day

The last day arrives (Friday) and we start with great excitement and anticipation. There is little work to do – mainly tidying the site. Each team is to hand over the keys of one of their houses to a family. The Maroon team’s family arrived early – not surprising as they had waited 13 years to get a house.

The owner of the house (she is the lady in the white top in second from the right) is a lady called Agnes Zozo. She is 48 years of age. She is very thin and looks much older than her years. She will share the house with her mother, her 3 daughters and their 5 children. No men came.

Words cannot describe the emotions that were stirred during the half hour or so that we spent with the family.

Once our team handed over the key, the new owner of house no. 3860 spoke.

With her face painted yellow and flanked on both sides by her family, she spoke with deliberation in a quiet and dignified voice. She explained her everyday struggle living in a shack and the fact that she is HIV positive. Thanking God for this day, she went on to say what a difference this would make to her life. She now had a home to leave after her for her children.

You could just feel that her words came from the heart and you could not but be moved by them. She invited us into her new home and her family sang and danced for us. They were so happy.

Tears of joy flowed. Hugs all around. Here was a real family (and there would be many more, for example an 85 year old lady also got the keys of her first home this day!) whose lives are transformed by the generosity of people from Ireland.

This was the result of our efforts and your donations. We will never forget this moment nor will we ever forget this beautiful lady!

After saying Goodbye, we headed to an official house opening ceremony attended by dignitaries. There was lots of singing from the South Africans, the Irish (and of course the Welsh).

Then it was time for us to leave the township of Mbekweni. On the bus, people were generally quieter, lost in their own thoughts… going back over the week and what they had experienced and perhaps what the future would hold.



Supporting This Initiative

Throughout 2009 the Niall Mellon Township Trust will build a total of 6,500 houses with the money volunteers have raised together with South African Government finance.

If you are thinking about volunteering for the blitz in November '09 or a future blitz and would like more information, we would love to talk to you.

If anyone is interested in helping to raise funds for the charity, there is a national fund raising day on 8th May, for more information visit http://www.irishtownship.com/.

We have seen and experienced at first hand the difference this charity, its volunteers and supporters together can make. This was an experience we will never forget. It has made a real and positive difference!