AARON KENT
Mellon Educate is an Irish based, international charity. Founded in 2002 by Niall Mellon, the charity has built houses for 250,000 homeless people in South Africa’s poorest townships. In 2013 the charity committed to a 10 year education development programme to educate more than 100,000 African children and help them to develop the skills needed to write and read for meaning. As the Nelson Mandela quote on their website says: “education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world”.
Of the 10,000 Irish volunteers that helped to make the Mellon Educate mission a success, 292 came from Waterford, 369 from Tipperary, 295 from Wexford, and 180 from Kilkenny.
This week, The Munster Express spoke to Adrian Hansbury, a carpenter from Waterford City. Adrian is preparing for his second trip with Mellon Educate next month, where he will join his uncle Paul, who will be on his 16th trip, and his son Jamie, who is a 16-year-old Transition Year student.
“I have always tried to give back when I can” said Adrian, “I might fix a roof for an older person when I can, that kind of thing. During Covid I went with a group of guys to Upperchurch in Thurles and worked with the Home for Adam project, which was helping out a family who had a child with Autism. It was essential works so a group of us went and roofed their house and finished it off,” he said.
In the Home for Adam project, a group of volunteers helped Adam’s family to finish an old cottage they had bought. The family ended up stuck in a mobile home after the work needed to renovate the cottage to suit Adam’s needs proved more than they could manage.
When asked how he got involved in the Niall Mellon project Adrian emphasised the role of his uncle, Paul, who Adrian also served his time with as a carpenter’s apprentice.
“He [Paul] must have been asking me to go with him for 13, 14 years, but I was doing my own bit of charity work at home. But I find that you always meet a group of like-minded people and everyone sort of looks after one another,” he said.
“You have two extremes out there [in South Africa] there might be a multi-storey building across from a shanty town of galvanised huts, where they live off an open fire and they might have a tap or two and a toilet block for the whole area.”
“Last year there was about 450 of us went out, and we were spread across two sites. A lot of the work can be on existing schools, adding a toilet block or classroom. Last year I built a shelter, we put the posts up and roofed it in about 3 or 4 days. Then I went and did gutters and down pipes, smaller jobs,” said Adrian.
When asked what the working day looked like, Adrian said “It’s definitely not a holiday. Everybody puts in the work. We aim to be on-site between 7am and 8am and finish-up around 5pm”.
According to Adrian, giving back is not a one way exchange, he feels embarrassed when people praise his work because he gets as much from the experience as he gives. He now hopes that the journey will have a positive impact on his 16 year old son, Jamie.
“My son makes me laugh every day. He likes to please but he can get a bit anxious as well. But money burns a hole in his pocket. I want to teach him about money and what he has, to show him what real poverty is, not just what he sees on Tik-Tok. Other parents have brought their children and said it has kind of mapped them out for life,” said Adrian.
“My son is a looking forward to it but he is a little nervous. But even when we get there I will have him working with someone else for the first couple of days, so he doesn’t feel like he’s under my shadow.”
Speaking after Mellon Educate hit their 250,000 homed milestone, Eimear Murphy, Volunteer Director who has worked with Mellon Educate for 23 years, had high praise for Irish volunteers, like Paul, Adrian, and Jamie, as she called for anyone interested in joining the Mellon Educate project in 2026 to apply now.
“We are deeply proud of every volunteer who has come to help us over the past 23 years. On this special occasion, we want to especially acknowledge the 10,000 Irish volunteers who have travelled from Ireland to join us in changing lives in South Africa. It’s also interesting to note that over 70% of our volunteers this year come from outside Dublin, demonstrating the strong regional support for the charity’s work,” Eimear said.
Up to 100 young volunteers will travel to South Africa in March 2026 as part of Mellon Educates TY Blitz, a recently launched initiative that offers students from Ireland a unique opportunity to travel to townships where the charity is operating.
“Students get to connect with primary and high school students living in some of the world’s most disadvantaged communities – to help transform their educational journey,” said Eimear, who explained that students help with everything from painting classrooms and building walls, to reading with children and assisting with early learning.
“This next generation of volunteers will continue the work of Mellon Educate and we are just thrilled to see continued support and interest from our valued volunteer community,” she said.
While the call out for volunteers is now closed for 2025, the charity is accepting expressions of interest to participate in the 2026 Building Blitz. Anyone interested can visit melloneducate.com which also gives information about other ways to support the Irish charity that has been transforming the lives of thousands of children and families in South African townships since 2002.
