Hundreds of Irish builders are back in a South African township for a remarkable voluntary project. Des Cahill reports from Cape Town

George Banjwa, his wife Machezi and their two children were leaving their tiny, squalid shack in the Imizamo Yethu Township, just outside Cape Town, and moving into a spanking new home. They were very emotional and hugged the Dublin developer Niall Mellon as he handed them the keys a year ago.

A couple of dozen Irish volunteer builders, who had erected the houses, were watching. As Banjwa took the keys to his new home he turned and addressed the builders.

Nobody expected a speech from him. But in a most humbling and eloquent fashion, he told them that they had changed his life forever. They had given dignity to himself and his family. Spontaneously, the builders cheered and clapped. To my amazement, I could see tears in the eyes of many of them. Big guys. Tough guys. You don't expect them to cry when somebody moves into a house they have finished!

But everything about this ongoing project is different. While this is a bunch of ordinary Irish builders, they have gone to extraordinary trouble to be here.

They had raised a huge amount of money, given up their holidays, and worked savagely long days in extreme heat to provide this house.

Twenty-four other houses had been completed last year in other parts of the township which has a population of about 15,000, packed into an area of just under 50 acres. Put that in context. That's the population of a big Irish town, squeezed into a few fields on the side of a mountain.

The average shack in the township is about 9 feet by 9 feet, with no bathroom, no running water. Generally it's occupied by up to five people. They are made from waste material that would commonly be found on rubbish tips in Ireland - corrugated iron but mainly pieces of timber.

Dublin developer Niall Mellon began working on this project 18 months ago and so far, 250 houses have been built. He was prompted into action after buying a holiday home nearby. He strolled into the township out of curiosity and was shocked by the conditions. At the time, white people simply didn't stroll in. But now the residents are used to Irishmen and women about the place.

This week there are 350 Irishmen and women walking about. Each of them raised €4,000, and took eight days holidays to come out with a target of building 50 houses in a week. Most of them are skilled builders - bricklayers, carpenters, plumbers and electricians. But there are also some unskilled men and women working as labourers. The new houses cost the new owners €7,500, but the South African government gives a subsidy of about €2,200.

The house owners must repay about 8 a month, which might not seem very much, but adult men generally have great difficulty in getting a job. The main earners are the women, who usually work as domestics.

Niall Mellon says the project shows that Irish compassion and generosity still exist. "Ten or 20 people travelling to do this work doesn't reflect the spirit of a nation. But when you have 350, from every town in Ireland, it is truly representative of our country," he says.

"While lots of people haven't benefited hugely from the Celtic Tiger, a lot of people have, and it's fair to say the building industry has done particularly well. A lot of those people were happy to respond when I made the appeal for help.

"People felt they wanted to give something back. I asked them to mark some of the success they have had in the last 10 years, by giving something back to a very poor community.

"Ironically, both the giver and receiver have benefited. All of the volunteers have been touched by meeting real people who live in these conditions.

"In 15 years, Ireland has gone from being one of the poorest countries in Europe, to being one of the wealthiest. One of the defining legacies of the Celtic Tiger will be how we handle our success and the help we give to other less fortunate countries.

"It's hard to put into words the goodwill and warmth that has been generated in South Africa towards Irish people. All of that is down to the visible impact of hundreds of Irish volunteers tearing down shacks and building decent homes in their place.

"South Africans cannot believe why so many Irish people would go to such lengths to help people that have never met. This has ensured that Irish people get a particularly warm welcome when they visit Cape Town.

"The volunteers are an extraordinary bunch of people. The contrasts in the group are great. The range of accents, the numbers of fathers and sons who decided to do this project together, there are even four brothers from Achill Island - the McNamaras - and they are great workers."

Two of the volunteers, Mary Nolan and Gerry Nolan share the same surname but their backgrounds are very different.Gerry, from Mullymucks, just outside Roscommon town, is on building sites every day, working as a plant-hire operator. Mary is a hairdresser from Kilcock, Co Kildare. She is a widow, with six children and six grandchildren. She was prompted to come out by her sister-in-law, Fidelma, who came here on holidays last year, and was shocked by the conditions when she visited Imizamu Yethu.

The prospect of travelling with 300 male builders didn't intimidate her. "My father and 11 brothers were all in the building trade," says Mary who is working as a labourer. "So I'm well used to fighting my corner. I'm delighted that I came out. The township has had a big impact. Imagine that we complain at home about having nothing! It's incredible that these families have so little, yet the children are always cheerful."

Gerry Nolan says that last year's trip had a big effect on him. "You'd want to be an awful hard man not to be affected by the poverty here. "To tell you the truth, I spent the year thinking about it," he says. "Niall Mellon is just a fantastic man to have taken on such a massive project. I decided I wanted to do something long-term, so with my wife, Mairead, and my children, I set about fundrasing to get a proper digger brought out for permanent use.

"We got great support and sponsorship, and last week I was able to put a Terex Fermec 820 into a container for shipping. It has all the best buckets and an Indico rock-breaker. With the extra space in the container I was also able to bring 150 shovels and 30 wheelbarrows! I'm delighted we did it.

"A lot of the big builders are supporting it. I think they find it hard to believe that so many lads from their sites are making such an effort to help people who have less opportunity than them."

The new house-owners find it difficult to express their joy. Sheila Kless moved into her house this week. "Happiness isn't a big enough word for me," she says.

"Living in a shack is so difficult. It is very unhealthy. When it's hot outside, it's hot inside, and when it's cold outside we are very cold in the shacks. Also, on windy days the dust blows in, and it's very difficult for us. The Irish people are fantastic. They are like brothers and sisters to us," she smiles.

On the next street, Zola is helping the Irish volunteers finish his new house, where he will live with his girlfriend, Thelma, and their two children. He takes me around the corner to show me the shack where he lived for the last 11 years, since moving here from Eastern Cape.

"I love the Irish," he says loudly, catching the attention of the volunteers. "I am going to get a big photograph of them and put it up on my wall. I am so happy.

"It is incredible that they give so much help to our community. I am so happy on the inside, my heart is white. By getting my house, Niall Mellon has made me feel like a big shot - like Nelson Mandela."

Des Cahill is a sports presenter with RTÉ Radio 1