This article is from page 26 of the 2007-08-07 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 26 JPG
A WEST Clare housewife will join a group of local tradesmen in a bid to construct numerous houses in one Neto) e
Mary Morgan is one of a group of six travelling from the west Clare pe- ninsula as part of the Niall Mellon Township Trust.
This year 1,300 people, the largest number ever, are making the trip to South Africa for the cause.
Of the record number of people, six will be travelling from the west Clare peninsula, four of which are
from the small west Clare village of Carrigaholt.
Kevin Shalloo from Kilkee, Joe Hasset from Cross, and Pa Mahoney, Denis McMahon, Richard Lynch and Mary Morgan all from Carrigaholt are making up the west Clare contin- gency travelling in November.
While she may be one of only 130 women taking part in the work, the Carrigaholt mother of three is no stranger to such projects.
Following the 2005 tsunami Mary headed off to the disaster zone to help out there.
Initially her offer of practical help
was refused, as she was not a trades- person, so she went alone and quickly got involved in building two houses.
This time around she will be in- volved in a weeklong project in Free- dom Town – a shantytown 20 min- utes from Capetown.
“I prefer to be involved and be hands-on,’ she said.
While the project will finish in one week, Mary intends to stay in the country for a month and continue to work there.
“T can’t wait,” she said.
The group has to raise €5,000 each – a huge challenge for such a small
area, but the fundraising is going well according to those involved.
Quizzes, auctions, hay barn nights and raffles all helped to raise funds.
Just last week they received the support of the Munster Rugby stars When they attended a fundraising barbecue in Carrigaholt and provid- ed signed jerseys and balls for raf- fling and auction.
On Friday, August 31 and Saturday, September 1 the group will have a bag packing session in Supervalu in OTF
All of the money must be collected within the month.