Irish Independent, 26th January 2006

Next week marks the 21st anniversary of when GOAL's Maura Lennon first went overseas with the aid agency, to feed the starving in the devastating Ethiopian famine of 1984.
 
Having trained as a nurse, with a job offer as a teacher, it was aid work that really appealed to the young Maura, who sought the advice of the nurses in Crumlin Hospital, who pointed her in the direction of John O'Shea. "At the time GOAL was John O'Shea with a phone in a room in the Merion Hotel in Dun Laoghaire. But an hour after talking to him, I was on my way to Ethiopia with two other nurses." And so began the start of her 21 year old relationship with GOAL that saw her spend two years in Sudan, Cambodia, and Mozambique, with shorter term emergency interventions in Rwanda/ Tanzania, Angola, Honduras, and various other African locations on emergency operations.
 
Maura continues to work as Overseas Operations Manager in GOAL's head office. Now with twins and a little boy all under five years of age, plans for a return to Africa anytime soon are on hold.
 
"This is the best life education anyone could hope for, not professionally but far more importantly for living life. And although it sounds like a cliché, regardless of how much you put into this type of work, the benefits far outweighs the sacrifices. I'd really encourage anyone professional who feels they have something to offer to get involved in the aid industry because you'll never look back : I've seen very few professional casualties - everyone really gets to take something from it."
 
Maura points to the success of immunisation campaigns for children in impoverished countries, against diseases such as polio, diphtheria, and measles. Similar aid-backed successes have been achieved in the fight against African river blindness, trachoma, leprosy, and guinea worm.
 
"Its sad to think, but they'll always be a need for people in this profession," she adds.