It Broke My Heart

Sharon Corr has joined the campaign, spearheaded by Irishman Niall Mellon, to build houses to replace township dwellings in South Africa.

“I visited the townships when I was in South Africa to do the gig for Nelson Mandela,” Sharon told Hot Press, “and it broke my heart to see the conditions in which people were living there. There were 14,000 people in a totally congested area of just 50 acres. They were living in the worst conditions that you could possibly imagine – in shacks made of corrugated tin, with no running water and no sanitation. It was absolutely awful.”
Sharon had met Niall Mallon by chance on the flight to South Africa – and he had filled her in on his ambitious plans for Imizamo Yethu Township. When she experienced first-hand both the warmth of the people and the appalling circumstances of their lives, the eldest of the Corr sisters vowed to do something positive to help the building project.
“I just want to use my celebrity, which you get in this privileged life that we lead, to generate awareness and funds to support the building,” she explained. “There are 3.3 million families in shack houses, so this is a massive undertaking. Any funds that are generated will be well spent.”
Under the terms of the scheme, the houses are financed by a 14,000 R government subsidy, topped up by a twenty-year interest free loan, which is subsidised by Niall Mellon. As people pay back their loans, the money is ploughed back into funding more houses.  Before people qualify for construction, they must put in 300 hours of “sweat levy” labour in building one of their neighbour’s houses.
Earlier this year, Sharon’s husband, Gavin Bonnar, travelled to Cape Town to participate directly in the project.
“When he was there, the 300 Irish builders, who had travelled out there at their own expense, built 50 houses in a week, which is marvellous. He was deeply touched by the reaction of the local people – who are so appreciative that the last thing you want to do is to walk away afterwards. This is a great humanitarian project and we want to see it thriving.”
Sharon is planning to travel to Cape Town herself in November, when the next Irish building week takes place.
“We had a charity night in Belfast, which was very successful in raising funds,” Sharon added, “so we are planning to run a charity Ball in the Mansion House in September, to raise further funds. We’ve invited 20 young South African HIV orphans to sing, and we’ll be auctioning special items. I’ve invited Annie Lennox, who has said that she’ll be there, and we’re hoping that Brian May will make it too, so it promises to be a special kind of night.”
Awareness, cash and sustainability – these are the objectives to enable the Imizamo Yethu Township project to achieve its full potential.
“Through raising funds, we can turn this into an ongoing commitment,” Sharon concluded, “which is what is necessary to achieve what Niall Mellon set out to achieve in South Africa.”