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Hibernia : Irish Man Builds Houses for Homeless in South Africa
 New
York, September 24, 2007: Irish philanthropist, Niall Mellon, unveiled
plans to build the world’s first not-for-profit housing super-factory
in South Africa in response to the inability of traditional methods of
house construction to keep pace with the growth of homelessness among
the Developing World’s poor.
The Irishman’s radical plans to build the first such factory near
Cape Town got the backing of Nobel Peace Prize winner, Archbishop Desmond
Tutu, and the South African Government which donated the site for its
construction.
Mellon unveiled the Trust’s plans in a media briefing at the office
of The American Ireland Fund (AIF) in New York, where earlier he addressed
a meeting of Irish-American donors in the presence of Archbishop Tutu.
Giving the plan his strongest public endorsement, the Archbishop said
“This bold initiative is the kind of solution we need in South Africa
and elsewhere in the world where homelessness if the root cause of endemic
poverty.”
President of AIF, Kieran McLoughlin said “Niall Mellon’s
pioneering project underlines the contribution that modern Irish philanthropy
is capable of making at a global level. It is tremendous to see a new
generation of successful Irish business people embracing the culture of
philanthropy which is one of America’s greatest exports. It also
reflects an unbroken tradition in Ireland of giving to the Developing
World.”
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