Lecturer boxes clever to raise funds for Haiti
Conor O’Kane, 29, will spend 48 hours in less than ideal conditions in a bid to raise €20,000 for Haiti.
Conor is replicating the stunt carried out by US magician David Blaine seven years ago. The perspex box he is spending the next two days in only measures 8ftx4ft in width and six feet in height.
The box, which is suspended a couple of metres over the town square, contains a sleeping bag, a book, a mobile phone and a chair. Conor will be able to drink water and if the weather is particularly poor he will have “the odd cup of tea”. The challenge got under way yesterday afternoon.
Mr O’Kane, who teaches business in NUI Galway, was involved in charity work in Haiti last October. Conor explained “it was a truly life-changing experience” and he “was particularly touched by the friendliness and pride of the local Haitians despite the unbelievable poverty they lived in”.
The biggest challenge for Conor is the lack of bathroom facilities in the box.
“The toilet situation involves three elements – a velcro curtain, a bucket and a rope. The man leading the event with me, John O’Callaghan, will be disposing with it in an environmentally friendly way.”
Conor is hoping to bring four other tradesmen to Haiti to build houses with the Haven project.
- Donations can be made to AIB 93-60-82, a/c no 20098098.
