{"id":207621,"date":"2025-11-30T06:37:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T06:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/207621\/"},"modified":"2025-11-30T06:37:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T06:37:10","slug":"limerick-father-and-son-are-among-hundreds-in-south-africa-helping-to-build-better-futures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/207621\/","title":{"rendered":"Limerick father and son are among hundreds in South Africa helping to build better futures"},"content":{"rendered":"

SINCE his son was just two-years-old, tiler M\u00edche\u00e1l Fitzgerald has been travelling to South Africa<\/a> to help with building projects for those living in poverty in the townships.<\/p>\n

M\u00edche\u00e1l and his now 19-year-old son Tom, from Knockanes, just outside Adare, are currently in South Africa together, where they are part of a group building a school for the community of Lwandle – just over an hour from Cape Town.<\/p>\n

M\u00edche\u00e1l explained that when he first volunteered, it was to build houses to replace the shacks where up to 12 people might be living, as part of the Niall Mellon Township Trust.<\/p>\n

READ ALSO:\u00a0‘Mammy, I can’t breathe’ – young Limerick girl said as she was vomiting up blood before she died<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

He said that being part of the team to make these homes back when he started, and now schools, a reality, is really rewarding and fulfilling.<\/p>\n

Even though M\u00edche\u00e1l is a tiler, he said that he hasn\u2019t done any tiling in South Africa as a volunteer for Mellon Educate and he said you don\u2019t need to be a tradeperson, that there is something for everyone to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the moment, I\u2019m on the roofing team, but I\u2019ve done blocklaying, and lots of other things. It\u2019s great to have a trade, but everyone gets a job,\u201d M\u00edche\u00e1l said.<\/p>\n

When the team of volunteers arrive, they get to meet the children who will be learning in the school, walk around the site and meet the others who arrived earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember when I first went that the kids would rub my hands – they were not used to seeing white people and were trying to see if my freckles would rub off,\u201d M\u00edche\u00e1l recalls fondly.<\/p>\n

He explained that they are not merely building schools and these are not just buildings. \u201cThat is stability\u201d, M\u00edche\u00e1l said, adding that a house and an education can mean a good life, they get meals in school and sometimes the children who learn in these schools go on to teach in them as adults.<\/p>\n

M\u00edche\u00e1l said the experience gives people perspective and helps them to realise how happy people can be with less, in an ever increasingly materialistic world.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are stalls selling food every day and they are only ever sufficient for a day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Over the years, M\u00edche\u00e1l has heard about and seen some really tragic situations, where young children who did not have the opportunity to access education ended up out of the system, some ended up in crime or prostitution, so what these volunteers are doing is really life-changing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a tough place to grow up,\u201d he said, appreciating that the lives of these children are vastly different to the lives of his own three children.<\/p>\n

He added that having a safe home, food at school and access to education can be \u201cthe difference between making it in life or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

The children are excited to see the volunteers, they are happy, jumping and playing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey all have the same amount of nothing,\u201d M\u00edche\u00e1l said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great leveller too with volunteers – there\u2019s about 400 people from all walks of life and everyone is on the same boat, we are all there for the same reason and there\u2019s great fun and great banter,\u201d M\u00edche\u00e1l explained.<\/p>\n

Tom first went to South Africa when he was in transition year in school.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIt\u2019s always something I talked about doing when I was older\u201d and he will be joined by his cousin, his father\u2019s nephew Eoin, who lives in Clare.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I went with Dad when I was 16, I was excited and nervous and didn\u2019t know what was ahead and when you get there, you just get it – you have to see it with your own eyes,\u201d Tom said.<\/p>\n

He said that when it comes to the last few days of the trip, he\u2019s already planning his return trip the following year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see videos of our progress while there and it gives you a real sense of achievement,\u201d the 19-year-old said.<\/p>\n

M\u00edche\u00e1l added: \u201cWe\u2019re all like ants, it\u2019s incredible how quickly these buildings go up. Last year, on Saturday afternoon the roof was on, by Monday it was plastered and the windows were in by Tuesday, and it was painted and blackboards were hanging by the end of the week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom said that he\u2019s a general labourer on the sites and will be doing whatever is asked of him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re never stuck for something to do – you can always lend a hand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

M\u00edche\u00e1l added: \u201cYou don\u2019t need a skill or trade, people should consider it – you\u2019d surprise yourself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a Cork hairdresser and she\u2019s out there plastering.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ ALSO:\u00a0PICTURES: Limerick school marks World Children’s Day with candlelight vigil<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Volunteering has been part of life for so long in the Fitzgerald house that their annual coffee morning to raise funds for their trip is a local highlight in the calendar.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a social – our neighbours and friends are fantastic and so supportive, without those people we wouldn\u2019t be able to go.<\/p>\n

All of those people have donated generously on the day and online on GoFundMe and you feel like you\u2019re out there representing them and your neighbours and you do your bit,\u201d M\u00edche\u00e1l stressed.<\/p>\n

Over the past 23 years, Mellon Educate has housed 250,000 homeless people in South Africa, thanks to the voluntary work of 10,000 Irish people – 365 of whom were from Limerick.<\/p>\n

For this father and son duo, volunteering at Mellon Educate has become part of their identity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s part of who I am now,\u201d M\u00edche\u00e1l said, with his son Tom adding; \u201cWhen you meet people around the village, they\u2019ll ask about the trips to South Africa – it\u2019s almost an extension of yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

2025 positions have been filled, but the charity is accepting expressions of interest to participate in the 2026 Building Blitz.<\/p>\n

Anyone interested can visit melloneducate.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SINCE his son was just two-years-old, tiler M\u00edche\u00e1l Fitzgerald has been travelling to South Africa to help with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":207622,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[4527,79,2597,18,19,17,1844],"class_list":{"0":"post-207621","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-adare","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-education","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-limerick"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}