Mellon Educate Building Blitz

BITA is encouraging our members to sign up for the Mellon Educates 21st Building Blitz 2024, taking place from the 16th to the 23rd November in Cape Town, South Africa. If you are interested in taking part yourself, or you want to donate to a fund to enable someone else to attend, register your interest here, and we'll be in touch! Everyone is welcome to attend, but we are especially encouraging people with trades and building skills, to help erect schools and educational buildings across some of South Africa's poorest townships. 

Mellon Educate is an Irish-based African development charity founded by developer & philanthropist Niall Mellon in 2002 and established as a charitable company in 2004. Thanks to the enormous collective effort of our volunteers, in conjunction with the South African government, has built houses for 175,000 homeless people in South Africa’s poorest townships. This was only possible because ordinary people took selfless action to do something truly extraordinary, lend a helping hand on our annual “building blitz” in South Africa. In 2012, we proudly celebrated a milestone achievement for the charity with 25,000 houses completed.

In 2013, deep in the Irish recession, the charity redoubled its commitments to those less fortunate in Africa, pledging a 10-year education development programme to provide better education to more than 100,000 African children. A highly ambitious target in co-operation with local community school collaboration, Mellon Educate has already extended educational access and standards of education for over 50,000 primary school children aged between 4 and 12 in Kenya & South Africa. In 2014, due to phenomenal demand and a willingness by our dedicated, loyal volunteers, Mellon Educate ran two building blitzes in the same year, one in the same township community where the charity first built homes in 2002, another to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela, building not one but two schools in his Eastern Cape homelands on Mthatha, Qunu.

2015 was another landmark year where 260 volunteers put their hands to good work in Masiphumelele, Cape Town, safeguarding the education of 1,650 young boys and girls. Formerly they lived in dilapidated shacks and went to a school that was tumble-down and under-resourced. Now they have a solid roof over their heads and the foundations are set to support education that lasts a life-time.

November 2016 brought 270 volunteers returning to rebuild and renovate schools in the township of Khayelitsha in Cape Town. In just 7 days, volunteers completed 13 new classrooms, 2 toilet blocks, 1 kitchen and renovated 7 other buildings. 2,700 collective school pupils and countless children to come will benefit from this lasting legacy, the Mellon Educate Results Programme helping raise and sustain school grades from below 20% to above 75%.

The charity is estimating that between 450/500 volunteers will travel to South Africa for this incredible week. While there, the volunteers will stay in a city centre hotel and be transported to and from the build sites. In order to travel, every volunteer must raise a minimum of £3,450 (flight at own expense). This figure covers a 6-night stay in Cape Town (twin room basis), insurance, uniform t-shirts, food & water throughout the working day, transport while in Africa, security, full medical set up and of course construction materials. The only item it does not include would be your evening meals.

All of the charities work is done in conjunction with the Western Cape Education Department with whom there is a very strong multi year partnership.

Make 2024 a memorable year in your life.

Volunteer NOW for this incredible week!