Mellon Educate

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.

Every year our volunteers create new inspiring stories of possibility for children deprived of opportunity in their lives. The legacy of the work accomplished in those 7 days, the skilled labour and heavy lifting of long days, is literally a life achievement. Volunteers are the life-blood of our charity and we value each and every one greatly. A 7 day building blitz in South Africa is an arduous undertaking. It’s no holiday in the sun! What’s more, fundraising to travel and support the construction projects is a colossal challenge before even our volunteers set foot on African soil.

That is why we’re appealing to you, local businesses and people of the community close to our volunteers, to dig deep, to put your hand in your pocket and give our volunteer a dig out so that they can roll up their sleeves and help lift children out of a life of hopelessness to a higher level of education, a level where they can contribute and shape their society.