An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 19 Pte Noel Tuohy (blue helmet) in June 1978 (aged 18), with A Coy, 43 Inf Bn, the first Irish unit to serve with UNIFIL in South Lebanon pictured with IDF soldiers during the handover. Water pump in Marracuene Local market outskirts of Maputo Goal storage containers at Magoanine Barios Marracuene food distribution Sgts retd Ronnie Palmer and Noel Tuohy in the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Bks, Dublin. Photo by Cpl Paul Millar (PR Br) After meeting with GOAL's then na- tional director, John O'Shea, the two lads underwent two weeks of personality assessments, interviews and briefs by Maura Lennon (GOAL) who later joined them in Mozambique. They received numerous injections and inoculations before they set off. Despite plenty of overseas experience both men found it difficult to acclima- tise at first. While the working day was from 6am-6pm (daylight hours) Noel says "you also worked when it needed to be done". On the ground there was a small team of seven ex-pat aid workers and about 70 local staff, spread throughout a number of different locations, feeding around 75,000 people every 14 days, in partnership with the UN agency World Food Programme (WFP), as well as in Maputo providing shelter materials or family kits, which contained canvas for shelter and a paraffin cooker. As Noel was based in the capital, Maputo, while Ronnie was in Chokwe, a distance of approx 250km the two NCOs kept in contact by mobile phone. While both of the lads had been sent as logisticians initially they quickly had to become 'jack-of-all-trades'. They also became familiar with each other's jobs so that they were able to cover for each other whenever the need arose. Noel remembers Mozambique as be- ing a very dangerous place at the time. It was also a severe place for malaria, and some NGO staff had died working in the country. GOALs main focus was on health and food aid (which included maize, rice, sugar and cooking oil). In Maputo the agency provided a food-for-work programme, HIV clinics, a street children project, and a WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) programme. In Chokwe Goal also engaged in school rehabilita- tion projects. One example of GOAL's WASH programme was the construction of concrete covers for latrines for people outside the capital who mainly lived in huts without plumbing. Noel told us: "We bought a second hand mini-bus so the children from the street children project could be brought to the seaside, which was their first time ever! What we did then was similar to today's CIMIC (civil-military co-operation); we could go to remote villages and assess schools, water, latrines, food distribution, etc, to see what aid we could provide and what their priority was. "GOAL operates on a best-bang-for-your-buck policy, and even when purchasing the simplest things, like ten buckets, we would have to get three quotes and barter for the best price; treating it as if it was our own money so as not to be wasteful." One thing the two men found out was that they were the start, middle and end of most projects, and so success or failure stopped with them. That's a tough challenge, even for experi- enced members of the DF, but one they took to all the same. Noel hired locals to load the food onto the trucks in the port and then deliver the food aid to its destination. Finding out exactly how much food aid was arriving in port was important in order to make sure it was all accounted for and distributed. Ronnie says: "Sadly, like most countries after a civil war or natural disaster there were some unscrupulous people who would try to make a profit by dubious means – we had to be aware of that! "On one occasion food tickets were stolen, leading to a food riot as frantic people thought they weren't going to be fed. For our own safety we had to drop everything off the truck and go. However, GOAL's name is its bond so we had to act quickly to preserve the agency's reputation. We arranged an urgent meet- ing with the village chiefs/elders to identify and expel the culprits who had stolen the tickets. This quick action helped to rebuild our relationship with the locals and regain their trust." There were also many good times. "We would drive to Nelspruit in South Africa for vehicle parts," Noel says. "While on these runs we would purchase skipping ropes and balls out of our per diem (a daily personal allowance for expenses) to bring back to the kids. We would let the air out of the balls and sit on them in order to hide them as we went back across the border so we wouldn't have to pay a tax or bribe the border guards!" Ronnie added: "A lot of schools and other projects were built or repaired under GOAL. Although we didn't get to see many of them finished, we left the villages in a better condition than we found them. "We don't think we did anything special: we just gave the people what was theirs. It was their aid, we just acted as brokers - and we were trusted by them to do this fairly." The mission in Mozambique is just one example of the count- less humanitarian activities carried out by units and individuals from the Defence Forces over the years at home and abroad; activities that have been, and continue to be, the hallmark of Irish peacekeeping units serving with the UN throughout the world. Noel Tuohy served 31 years in the Defence Forces (1977 to 2008) with 27 Inf Bn and Gormonston Camp Coy. He served on four trips to Lebanon with 43, 55, 61 and 70 Inf Bns. He also served in East Timor, Eritrea and Liberia. He now drives for a private bus company. Ronnie Palmer served 28 years (1976 to 2004) with 2 Inf Bn and the Air Corps. He served overseas twice with 9 Ir Comp and 76 Inf Bn in Lebanon. After leaving the DF he worked for a telecoms company as a safety training and logistics manager. He has since set up his own company providing work at height safety training to the telecoms industry as a result of his Defence Forces' CTI and rock- climbing experience and training.

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