Forty-three year old self employed bricklayer Rupert Cummins from Irishtown is back from Cape Town, where he took part in a 'Building Blitz' in the fi rst week of November, which was all part of the well-known Niall Mellon building challenge.

It was an experience he describes as 'life changing', so much so that he has already made plans to join the group again next year. Rupert told 'NewsFour' how the event came about. “I saw it on the news in February and my son actually knows a girl who works for Niall Mellon so I just got a couple of forms to fi ll in. You had to raise a minimum of €4,000. I got a couple of builders I work for to sponsor me and I held a raffle as well. I left it quite late but I got the money together in the last few weeks and managed to raise it.”

Rupert set off for Cape Town, one of 1,380 builders, plasterers and painters and set about building two hundred houses in just eleven days. They actually built two hundred and three. These houses will now house 1,100 children and 450 adults.

Rupert's work and that of his colleagues has transformed forever the lives of some of the poorest families in the world. Over 200 families have moved from a one-roomed shack measuring 3 metres by 3 metres to a house with 2 bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. Most importantly, these houses will have running water, electricity, and sanitation– facilities which we take for granted in our everyday lives.

It was the biggest ever Township Challenge in Freedom Park, Cape Town, South Africa and the largest ever exodus of Irish people to a charity event overseas.

“It was a brilliant experience,” Rupert reiterates. “The locals were very happy, smiley people for what they're living in. Their houses were like a bonfi re before it was lit with a door on it, with tyres and rubbish on them and when they brought us inside, you could see they were really clean people and all their kids went to school every day with snow white shirts on them, which I thought was amazing.”

Rupert says he would encourage everyone to get involved in what proved to be “a very humbling experience,” and he has already put his name down for 2008. The Niall Mellon township challenge is the brainchild of Dublin property developer, Niall Mellon, who undertook the massive task of giving each of these families a proper house instead of their ramshackle huts.

A few years ago, Niall bought a house nearby. One day, out of curiosity, he walked into the township and he was shocked by what he saw– a level of poverty that is very hard to describe to Irish people. The people living there have no sanitation or social welfare and they had no hope until Niall Mellon pledged to make a difference. So impressed was Niall by the great spirit of the people, that he set about change immediately.

He put up a million euro, encouraged some of his peers to do the same and immediately went on a fund-raising crusade to try to bring about change. In 15 months he built 120 houses. He then got 150 Irish builders to pay their own way out, work for eight days, and build another 30 houses.

Volunteers come from the length and breadth of the country and from all walks of life– including bricklayers, plasterers, roofers, electricians, plumbers and labourers. Approximately one fi fth of those travelling to Cape Town have never laid a brick before in their lives– they include acupuncturists, prison wardens, marine biologists, scout leaders and postmen! Those embarking upon the challenge range in age from just 15 years of age to 69.

Niall Mellon himself has confessed in the past to feeling “overwhelmed” by the response from Irish people to the challenge. “€4,000 is a lot of money to ask anyone to raise but our volunteers are trying to do even more than that. I urge everyone to give as generously as they can to these fundraisers, as every single cent donated goes directly to the charity and means more houses for some of the poorest people in South Africa.”

Next year is 2008 and 2,008 is the amount of volunteers that will take part in the Building Blitz. Recruiting is well under way for next year's trip with 400 places already fi lled to date with 1,608 remaining. If you would like to take part in the Challenge call 01 494 8200. If you can't come, perhaps you know someone who would be interested. For more information log onto www.irishtownship.com