James’ Ethiopian journey

James’ Ethiopian journey

28 August 2013

A KIND hearted Saintfield man has returned home from a two week trip building homes in Ethiopia. Twenty-five year-old James Mullan, who is a member of the Saintfield and Carrickmannon parish, had travelled to Ethiopia with church group Living Youth, to work under Habitat for Humanity.

He was in a group of 24 people from different parishes in Northern Ireland and three leaders, Fr. Raymond McCullough, Maeve Tohill and Anna McCreevy.

When they arrived they were based in Debre Birhan, two hours north of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

Before leaving on July 29 James raised funds for the trip with help from a collection at his workplace in Asda, Downpatrick, a table quiz in the White Horse, Saintfield, and he ran a six mile leg of the Belfast marathon.

Describing the work involved and recommending the rewarding charitable trip to people of all ages James said: “Every morning we travelled to the Habitat for Humanity village and did a mixture of jobs.

“Initially we dug foundations for new houses by hand and we also made walls with large wooden sticks, putting smaller sticks between them, like a basket.

“The walls were then covered by chica, mud. We did the inside one day and then three or four days later we did the outer walls by hand.

“Covering the walls was everyone’s favourite job, as sometimes we covered each other,” he said.

The workers were also tasked with building a small toilet block behind the homes.

They mixed the cement by hand, transporting it on tinned platforms, which James said were like stretchers, before putting the foundations in.

James told the Down Recorder that he and the rest of his group had been treated well by the local population, who helped them with the building: “Everyone in the group really enjoyed working with the local people.

“During the two weeks the local children made us feel really welcome and the local people were very friendly and hospitable.

“Another one of the highlights was a football match arranged between Ireland and Ethiopia, which we won 5-3.

“I played in midfield and the Ethiopian players were actually playing in their bare feet.

“The whole trip was an amazing experience from start to finish and I would like to thank everyone that helped to support me in my efforts.

“I would also like to thank everyone in the parish of Saintfield and Carrickmannon who helped to raise the funds needed for the Living Youth team to enable them to build hope and homes in Ethiopia,” he said.

James finished by saying that as a keen member of the church he was one of the first to volunteer for the trip and said: “I would love to do it again next year if they will take me.”