Volunteers gear up to build school in Africa

THE spectre of unemployment has uncovered heroes through a Clare-based charity. Builders, chippies, sparks, accountants and others who faced being out of work are busy preparing to go to Africa, where they will bring a happy ending to a heartbreaking story.

Volunteers with the Building of Hope Project are preparing to take on their project for the people of Africa.

Volunteers who flew to Kenya to build a polytechnic in the parish of Clare priest, Fr Martin Keane, in Migombani, Mombassa, were shocked when they paid a visit to the nearby school for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Some of the children are Albino and have had to be rescued from families who hid them behind locked doors, fearing that a curse had been delivered on a black family with the birth of a white-skinned child.

Volunteers decided they would come back to help. The mission set for January 2012 is already being drawn up and it is planned the Irish volunteers will provide a modern, hygienic living and working environment, designed around the needs of the children. It’s even hoped that the volunteers will leave behind a scented garden which the children can enjoy.

Olive Halpin, founder of Building of Hope, said: “With 200 volunteers needed and €3,000 contribution from each volunteer, there’s still a way to go.”

For further information, or to register as a volunteer, contact Olive on 087 6994599.