Three inspirational volunteers from Co Kildare recently traveled over to Nigeria to help renovate a house purchased by The Patsy Furlong Foundation to help disadvantaged families in the country.
Newbridge man Michael Reade is co-founder of The Patsy Furlong Foundation which was set up in Kildare Town in 2001 with the aim of empowering disadvantaged families, and its volunteers work in Nigeria.
They recently purchased a large two-storey house and gave two single parent families a flat each with six children, and last month Kevin Kelly, Adam Hall and Francis Foran assisted with the much needed renovations to the house.
Speaking to KildareNow, Michael Reade explained: "These 3 men fundraised in order to come out. Kevin is a block layer Adam is a carpenter and Francis is a painter. They volunteered to come out and renovate our house which had deteriorated over the years. They raised the money to buy the paint and building material for the perimeter wall which collapsed last year. They spent 5 days of intense work to paint both the outside and inside of the house and rebuild the wall despite the 32 degree heat. They created quite a stir, with the locals agog at seeing white men working. They had a huge effect on the children in the house seeing people coming from so far away to help them."
In addition to the work ton the house, the three Kildare men brought a set of Jerseys for the local soccer team that is supported by The Patsy Furlong Foundation and some jerseys for the local children which went down a treat.
"They expressed delight at being afforded the opportunity to help these people in need so much that the expressed the desire to go again and maybe persuade more people to go with them. The work they did will have long term good effects on the beneficiary families," added Michael.
Kildare volunteers Kevin Kelly, Adam Hall and Francis Foran did a great job with the renovations for the house in Nigeria
The volunteers from Kildare even gave football jerseys to the local team
Co-founder of The Patsy Furlong Foundation Michael Reade with families in NigeriaIf you have a story or want to send photos or videos to us please contact the KildareNow editorial team. via our Facebook, via our email at content@kildarenow.com or on 045 409350 during office hours.