niall mellon charity?whats the big deal

FlutterinBantam

irishvamp90 wrote: »

In the last year or two i heard the name alot in the media,now fairplay charity is great cant knock it but whats the big deal with it?..i was sick on the couch yesterday and there was a repeat of that xpose show on tv3 so i watched it.it had that model one glenda in south africa with the charity interviewing a property tycoon and pr guru.its like a fake charity for wannabe sociallites.they said 2000 people have been over to south africa its a pity these people wouldnt help at home here in ireland.i started just helping with old people just a simple thing like time no money,no fancy balls.no media spin.rant over it sickens my ****

I agree with you 100%.

There is a growth industry now of so called "personalities"touring the world on granted,charitable causes.
If there was a cause in east Galway or south Leitrim,how many of them would you find there.

yes ... very few indeed,if any at all.

Practically all RTE punters have, at one time or another, gone on these trips,and I know they gave time,but this model and socialite stuff and the rest, is nothing only self publicity and is of no practical use .

Time people woke up and told these overpaid personalities and models to pay for their own holidays/publicity and quit riding on the back of deserving charities.
Niall Mellon seems to have a direct line into RTE 7/24/365.

I wonder why that is??.

Dinter

woodseb wrote: »

really, are the townships in south africa comparable to conditions in darfur or zimbabwe for example?

i think the people going over there have the best of intentions but there are more worthy causes that need such a mobilisation of funds and people

Well it depends where you are in Darfur or in Zimbabwe. There are some areas there that aren't as bad as SA townships. I know it's cool these days to have your little "Save Darfur" button on your schoolbag but there is an exceptionally high proportion of disease and death in the worst parts of SA. As bad as anywhere else.

Also it would be a tad pointless to build houses in a country that cannot guarantee ownership of them don't you think?

FlutterinBantam

Stick to the topic, time these personality freeloaders both in the model and broadcasting industries stopped touring the world on other peoples money and did something real

woodseb

Dinter wrote: »

Also it would be a tad pointless to build houses in a country that cannot guarantee ownership of them don't you think?

...and i think it's a tad pointless spending vast amounts of time and money building houses when people are dying from disease and famine elsewhere...

i'd rather upgrade somebody's standard of living from dying to alive rather than from shack to house - it's about priorities

as i've said before at least these people are doing something but i prefer to donate elsewhere

cmcsoft

I don't know the finance background etc for this charity and I don't have any affiliation with this charity but I do know this:

Last week a friend of mine went out to SA with the trust. He riased some money but paid a large proportion himself. He's not upper class bla bla he works in concrete here in Ireland (mostly foundation work etc). He doesn't drink and certainly wasn't going out there for partying.

He cam home Sun night / Mon morning and I spose to him yest evening about the experience. he told me how they worked with construction workers from SA on the houses and not only were they building houses but some of the workers out there were training local workers for the week.

Now as I say I can't say anything about the charity background but I will say it seems like a worthwhile charity, at least the money he raised can definitely be seen to do something where it's actually needed

Dinter

woodseb wrote: »

...and i think it's a tad pointless spending vast amounts of time and money building houses when people are dying from disease and famine elsewhere...

i'd rather upgrade somebody's standard of living from dying to alive rather than from shack to house - it's about priorities

as i've said before at least these people are doing something but i prefer to donate elsewhere

Build them a house and that family benefits immediately and on an ongoing basis from then.

Send tonnes of food, medicine etc to Zimbabwe or Darfur and the only benefits accruing are to corrupt minister's Swiss bank accounts who promptly sell your gifts on the black market or use your donations to fund another poxy, filthy war.

It is a question of priorities and my priority is to ensure something beneficial happens with my donations.

ronbyrne2005

Why is'nt Mellon in other desperately poor African countries? Instead he is in South Africa which is a relatively wealthy country with lots of tourism and lots of potential for developers like Mellon. He owns development land there I beleive. Even if his intentions are all good theres a lot more efficient and effective uses of resources in Africa. Those who go on the trips are mostly well meaning but a lot are in it for the craic and the Kudos, I remember some woman journalist on a radio station who went on it saying how crap she was at building/manual work but it was great craic! People had given her thousands of euros to pay for her flights etc to south africa and she had probably done the same amoutn of work a local unemployed tradesman could have done for a few hundred euro. The money people give to those who go over could do so much more if used to train teachers, doctors, nurses, engineers etc and train African people to become instructors themselves so they can spread their knowledge among the poorest. I also heard people who had got the free houses were renting them out to people and staying in their old shacks and whats the use in having a new home if you have no work and prospects?

woodseb

Dinter wrote: »

Send tonnes of food, medicine etc to Zimbabwe or Darfur and the only benefits accruing are to corrupt minister's Swiss bank accounts who promptly sell your gifts on the black market or use your donations to fund another poxy, filthy war.
.

the only benefits?...well there's no point in arguing with that logic is there....and for that reason, i'm out

Dinter

woodseb wrote: »

the only benefits?...well there's no point in arguing with that logic is there....and for that reason, i'm out

Just because something is highlighted doesn't make it untrue.

Nehaxak

Dinter wrote: »

Just because something is highlighted doesn't make it untrue.

FYP.

irishvamp90

i dont doubt they good work building houses point is does any agree with me on the falseness and cool tag that seems to go with this charity?
thanks flutteringbantam:)

mac123

mountainyman wrote: »

It is the stupides thing I have ever heard of. A load of tradesmen from a country where tradesmen aren't that good go and build houses in a country with a surplus of labour and a shortage of money.

It's bullsh1t. If they trained people in Africa up that'd be one thing but the whole thing is moronic. Its main advantage is that the participants really feel good about themselves because they give their time rather than money. That is an advantage for the participants not the recipients.

It is illogical.

100% true. Theres no need for them to go over there to work/holiday, the money would be put to much better use if they employed local labour.
I mean there are plenty of women that go ever every year...bet there real productive...but sure at least they get a tan and see a bit of africa;)

irish_bob

mountainyman wrote: »

It is the stupides thing I have ever heard of. A load of tradesmen from a country where tradesmen aren't that good go and build houses in a country with a surplus of labour and a shortage of money.

It's bullsh1t. If they trained people in Africa up that'd be one thing but the whole thing is moronic. Its main advantage is that the participants really feel good about themselves because they give their time rather than money. That is an advantage for the participants not the recipients.

It is illogical.

+1

i know people who go on the niall mellon thingy and they havent a clue how to build houses , its nothing but a free trip to the other side of the world for them , i also find it quite patronising that the africans are seen as not being able to buld thier own houses

Dave!

mountainyman wrote: »

They could train people up. The guys going over are mostly semi skilled they happen to live in a rich country (which these pr1cks have ruined). How useful was Sean Dunne- he was there to get photographed.

Do you really believ there is no one in South Africa who could run these projects with foreign money?

Even if Niall Mellon is a prick and he is I accept that his intentions are good. I just think the whole thing is stupid.

From the website
http://www.irishtownship.com/htm/about.htm

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Because of the enormous support and interest our volunteers have generated, we now have a workforce of between 1,700 and 2,000 South Africans building homes all year round.

Last year they built approximately 4800 which, when added to the total built by the 1380 volunteers, brings the annual figure to 5000 houses in total.

The charity is heavily involved in training and up-skilling its South African workforce which is a further integral part of the charity’s
ethos. Most of the workforce come from the townships themselves.

Community development is an integral part of the work of the NMTT engaging local communities in the planning and design of the new communities. All of this is done in close cooperation and partnership with the South African government at national and local level.

Shelflife

My brother is just back from a trip and said he really had his eyes opened over there, he said that he felt good to have a hands on approach to helping people.

its a simple approach, how do you get people to raise a lot of money? simple offer them an incentive, so the NMT offer the incentive to go to SA for a week and help to build some houses.

If that incentive wasnt there then not as many would bother raising money, it also doubles up as a pr exercise because all these people who go to SA see at first hand what condidtions these people live in and how they can help them.

the celebs that travel give a publicity boost to the NMT as well as getting their hands dirty.

you do a full days work, no messing around and the craic is had when everyone pulls together.

he says hes going back again and if you saw the bunch he went with you would struggle to find "cool" amongst them all .

is it perfect? prob not , i dont know alot about it but it works and makes people feel empowered and good about themselves.

if you dont like it , dont donate, if you feel that other areas are more deserving then donate to that or set up your own charity to help that.

LaMer

He also has a government contract to build these houses from what I've heard. Entertained the idea myself, but to be honest I think it would be better to employ unemployed South African's to do the work, there's a 40% unemployment rate, probably more because of illegal immigration, so it would make sense to employ these, instead of bringing over other unskilled workers. There's enough of that there.

Wurly

mountainyman wrote: »

It is the stupides thing I have ever heard of. A load of tradesmen from a country where tradesmen aren't that good go and build houses in a country with a surplus of labour and a shortage of money.

It's bullsh1t. If they trained people in Africa up that'd be one thing but the whole thing is moronic. Its main advantage is that the participants really feel good about themselves because they give their time rather than money. That is an advantage for the participants not the recipients.

It is illogical.

Well having been just back from Zambia in July building houses, I am outraged by your above comments.

The Zambian men who built houses in their own village trained all of us in and consistently worked on site with us.

Because there are so many vulnerable children orphaned by the huge AIDS epidemic in a country like Zambia, they need proper housing and fast.

That's where volunteers like us come in. Yes I did feel good about myself. And why shouldn't I?

Beats sitting on my arse moaning and bitching like you.

jdivision

irishvamp90 wrote: »

yes mr.mellon seems a great guy,good work by the charity.all im saying its see as the "cool" and "hip".people in college were collecting money,fundrising for this this year but when it came to helping with the chaplin in the local area there was zero interest

Mate hate to tell you this but the socialites as you call them and the rich are the very guys who supported the charity ball circuit and paid hundreds of thousands at auction for domestic charities

FlutterinBantam

irishvamp90 wrote: »

i dont doubt they good work building houses point is does any agree with me on the falseness and cool tag that seems to go with this charity?
thanks flutteringbantam:)

Don't worry IV, the punters here are deliberately veering off the point.

They are spouting bulldust about the various situations in Sub Saharan Africa,and ignoring the point you made which is totally correct inmho.

Just so people are not mislead I will spell it out. Everybody knows this by the way!!

There is a growth industry in so called "celebs" going on overseas trips to "support" charities.
The same punters would do fcuk all for deserving causes in Castlebar/Ennis/Limerick. take your pick.
They may be deserving causes, and people may benefit, but people are using their exposure on the "airwaves" to travel the world and of course the charities are aware of the "foot in the door" of RTE if the accommodate a "personality" on one of their trips.

When they look after an old folks home in Kilbeggan on their own time I will show some respect.

wake up people.

ronbyrne2005

Tri wrote: »

Well having been just back from Zambia in July building houses, I am outraged by your above comments.

The Zambian men who built houses in their own village trained all of us in and consistently worked on site with us.

Because there are so many vulnerable children orphaned by the huge AIDS epidemic in a country like Zambia, they need proper housing and fast.

That's where volunteers like us come in. Yes I did feel good about myself. And why shouldn't I?

Beats sitting on my arse moaning and bitching like you.

Sorry , but for the cost of sending you to Zambia and the resources to train you to build houses ,dozens of local people could have been trained and employed to build dozens more houses than you built. Don't feel bad, lot's of naive gap year students think they are doing good when they would be doing much more by not going and sending the money instead. You probably got more out of it than the locals.

Dave!

Yeah everyone knows it's not charity if you smile while you're doing it!

Wurly

ronbyrne2005 wrote: »

Sorry , but for the cost of sending you to Zambia and the resources to train you to build houses ,dozens of local people could have been trained and employed to build dozens more houses than you built. Don't feel bad, lot's of naive gap year students think they are doing good when they would be doing much more by not going and sending the money instead. You probably got more out of it than the locals.

Well having been there myself, I can tell you that this is not the case. They held a ceremony for us when we were leaving to show thanks.

For what it's worth, I see your point but i'm sorry - it's ill informed.

In the village we were in, a lot of the men have alcohol problems. There are illegal 'sheebeen's' in operation. If we were to send the money, the money may not have been spent on housing. Also, if given to the government, the money would most probably have been squandered as the country is extremely corrupt.

It's not all about throwing money at something to make the problems go away. At least if you build a house with your own bare hands, you know that those people now have a dwelling to live in. If you send money, how do you know it has gone to its purpose.

And it wasn't only building houses - we really got to know the community. They loved having us there. It was a change of pace for them. We played football with the kids, washed clothes and cooked with the women and ate all of our meals together.

I should also mention that a sizeable portion of fundraising came from my own pocket. Any leftover money went straight back to the charity so that they could continue their work over there.

All of our food was bought by us. We did not use the charity money for personal use whatsoever.

I would also like to point out that I am not a gap year student, contrary to your assumption.

I do not feel bad, you're right. I am glad I went. And, like I said, I think it's better to actually go and visit the country you are helping, mix with the locals, hear their stories and provide labour to help the cause. I think it's far too easy to criticise people like me who have gone and label us as naive.

Your opinion is your entitlement. And I see your point. But the whole thing is a lot different to what you think it is. Btw - it was not the Niall Mellon Trust - it was a different charity. Not all charities are the same or go about things in the same way.

ronbyrne2005

Tri wrote: »

Well having been there myself, I can tell you that this is not the case. They held a ceremony for us when we were leaving to show thanks.

For what it's worth, I see your point but i'm sorry - it's ill informed.

In the village we were in, a lot of the men have alcohol problems. There are illegal 'sheebeen's' in operation. If we were to send the money, the money may not have been spent on housing. Also, if given to the government, the money would most probably have been squandered as the country is extremely corrupt.

It's not all about throwing money at something to make the problems go away. At least if you build a house with your own bare hands, you know that those people now have a dwelling to live in. If you send money, how do you know it has gone to its purpose.

And it wasn't only building houses - we really got to know the community. They loved having us there. It was a change of pace for them. We played football with the kids, washed clothes and cooked with the women and ate all of our meals together.

I should also mention that a sizeable portion of fundraising came from my own pocket. Any leftover money went straight back to the charity so that they could continue their work over there.

All of our food was bought by us. We did not use the charity money for personal use whatsoever.

I would also like to point out that I am not a gap year student, contrary to your assumption.

I do not feel bad, you're right. I am glad I went. And, like I said, I think it's better to actually go and visit the country you are helping, mix with the locals, hear their stories and provide labour to help the cause. I think it's far too easy to criticise people like me who have gone and label us as naive.

Your opinion is your entitlement. And I see your point. But the whole thing is a lot different to what you think it is. Btw - it was not the Niall Mellon Trust - it was a different charity. Not all charities are the same or go about things in the same way.

I have worked in some of the biggest charities in Ireland working in International development, I'm not ill informed. Whatever makes you feel good I suppose. Good luck.

irishvamp90

TO REPEAT=yes i know regular people help with the niall mellon charity and do hard work building but i hate all this gloss and spin thats go with the charity.its like their a snob charity because they can jet off to south africa.and yeah fiar play to the rich people at balls and auctions who spend money........in charity time and patients would mean more to me.i bet these people wouldnt go visit old folk over christmas ,cook an extra dinner or a cake for a old neighbour or invite them over.simple things.the oh my insert family/friend who is so great why dont they do some good at home in ireland because they get no attention and the glamour of saying the naill mellon charity

FlutterinBantam

Or if there was a project in Newtownforbes to renovate houses for old people would the 'personality and socialite' set be there.

Would the RTE 'bods' be queuing up to take part and the so called socialites?


Would they f***k.

Tipsy7

irishvamp90 wrote: »

.its like their a snob charity because they can jet off to south africa.

Serioulsy a snob charity, that is just beyond crazy & it sounds a tab bitter.
If these people have the money it is great that they use it to help others, if people in the public eye chose to support this charity that is their own decison, whether u like to accept it or not they are doing a great thing.
I am aware there are various charities at home that need help too ,but what we consider poverty here would be a good standard of living in many countries so pershaps they are more deserving of our help.

irishvamp90

charity work isnt all about poverty.helping old folk.homeless,disabled,people with mental illness spending time being human that costs ZERO no money.and it make it sound worse the niall mellon trips are called blitz's.id love to see all these people who care so much giong to south africa do some simple helpful things here without the glory

Spider_Baby

FlutterinBantam wrote: »

Or if there was a project in Newtownforbes to renovate houses for old people would the 'personality and socialite' set be there.

Would the RTE 'bods' be queuing up to take part and the so called socialites?


Would they f***k.

How can you even compare the conditions of houses here to the conditions of "houses" in South Africa???
Thousands of people are dying there every year due to medical conditions associated with their appalling living conditions.
If this was the case in Ireland, of course thousands of people would be helping, including "the RTE bods" as you call them. This isn't the case though.

I see nothing wrong with celebrities going along on these trips. Anything that helps highlight the terrible living conditions and the extreme poverty in many parts of South Africa, can only be a good thing, even if it is Glenda Eyebrows who is informing us.
Making more people aware of the situation will help bring in more funds for the next trip. More funds = more houses.
I can't even comprehend that there are people on here complaining about this charity. Seriously, what have you got to complain about???

irishvamp90

not saying africa hasnt poverty but the pepple there live simple,something irish people need to go back too.plenty of kids in ireland in poverty......

Dave!

irishvamp90 wrote: »

not saying africa hasnt poverty but the pepple there live simple,something irish people need to go back too.plenty of kids in ireland in poverty......

Yeah, there's simple and there's simple.