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Niall Mellon at DCU Volunteer Expo 2010
20 October 2010
Niall Mellon, CEO of the Niall Mellon Township Trust, was a guest at the launch of today's Volunteer Expo 2010. The Expo was organised by DCU to give staff , students, alumni and members of the local community, the opportunity to meet with local, national and international volunteer organisations.
President of DCU, Professor Brian MacCraith, a strong supporter and active volunteer of the Niall Mellon Trust, said that the university was privileged to welcome Niall Mellon to today's event. He said that Niall's organisation is responsible for the transformation of lives in many of the townships in Cape Town, South Africa, through its house-building programme.
Niall said that he was first moved to set up the Trust in 2002, having witnessed first-hand the living conditions of local people in the townships. His first step in setting up the building programme was to consult with local group leaders in the townships on the most effective way to improve peoples' lives. He has now worked for over nine years on a full-time basis in South Africa. To date, the Niall Mellon Township Trust has built over 15,000 homes and has housed over 80,000 people. There are currently 13,000 volunteers within the organisation.
Further details on the Niall Mellon Township Trust are available at: www.nmtownshiptrust.com
Chaplain at DCU's Interfaith Centre, Fr Joe Jones, encouraged staff and students to talk to the representatives from the 50 organisations at today's event. "Voluntary work is so important to the life and welfare of our communities. While volunteering many people will say that they have received far more than they have given in the course of their voluntary activity. Many of us are where we are today because of the involvement we had through the years in voluntary organisations and we owe great debt to the many people who have given so much of themselves in the service of others in such a way that we have all benefited.", he said.
Hended the proceedings with a quote from George Bernard Shaw : "I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can". He invited everyone to take the opportunity to visit the representatives from over 50 voluntary organisations who had stands at the event, and to learn how they could make a difference through volunteering.