Only days after helping with a very successful Cycle Against Suicide in Armagh, local woman, Ciara O’Hanlon will take the brave step of chopping 10 inches of her hair for Ireland based Charity, Mellon Educate.
Ciara, a native of Moy, spent 10 days in Africa last autumn, participating in the now renowned ‘building blitz’ to help build better schools and homes in African communities in need of support and is already planning to return.
She will undertake the chop with local Moy hairdresser, Hair & Beauty Lounge, this Thursday evening, March 2, in the Auction Rooms, Moy at 8pm.
Founded in 2002, 22,000 charity volunteers have built 25,000 houses, providing 125,000 Africans with new homes, the charities mission is to provide better standards of education to 100,000 children in Africa.
Every year, Mellon Educate organises their now renowned “building blitz” trip to Africa for volunteers from all over the world to travel and lend a helping hand building better infrastructure in poor African communities.
Ciara said: “Participating in the Mellon Educate building blitz last autumn, was a life changing experience for me. Whilst I have four healthy children, and a grandchild, seeing for myself first-hand the poverty and huge challenges faced by these families, and, importantly, the amazing work the volunteers and staff at Mellon Educate undertake to make real differences to these lives. I want to raise these monies in order to return for a second volunteer building Blitz with ‘Mellon Educate’ this November along with 250 other volunteers.
“Mellon Educate (formerly Niall Mellon Township Trust) was founded in 2002 by Niall Mellon an Irish businessman who saw first-hand the appalling living conditions in the townships on the outskirts of Cape Town while on holiday there.”
Over a ten year period the charity built 25,000 beautiful homes and housed over 125,000 very poor people. The annual Building Blitz volunteer programme is core to its success and the charity would not exist without the support and dedication of wonderful volunteers and their supporters. The charity has engaged with over 20,000 volunteers since 2002.
To donate to Ciara's Mellon Educate appeal, you can give online at www.justgiving.com/CiaraOHanlonBlitz17
Pictured: (L-R), Ciara O’Hanlon, pictured with one of the children from the local area during her work with ‘Mellon Educate’. Ciara will be cutting 10 inches of her hair at the Auction Rooms, Moy on Thursday 2 March for the charity.
