User:Goal2016/sandbox

Intro Text

GOAL Global is an international humanitarian aid agency dedicated to alleviating the suffering of the poorest of the poor in the developing world. Since its establishment in 1977, GOAL has worked in 53 countries and spent more than €960m on emergency relief and development programmes. GOAL currently has over 4,000 staff working in areas of conflict and natural disaster all over the world with an annual budget of approximately €160-180 million. GOAL’s programming is focused on providing adequate shelter, food, water and sanitation, healthcare and education to those suffering from natural and man-made humanitarian crises (AR).

GOAL has its headquarters in Dublin with offices in London and New York. At present, GOAL is working in 19 (?) countries and since 2012, has been led by its CEO Barry Andrews (Annual report/Irish Times Article). Andrews succeeded John O’Shea at the helm of the charity which O’Shea himself founded in 1977 (IT Article).

In 2014, GOAL’s programmes supported more than 4 million people worldwide. GOAL is the largest international NGO working within Syria, with more than 400 national and non-national staff. GOAL has a long history of working with a range of international Governments, UN agencies, global communities and grassroots organisations (AR 2014).

History

GOAL was founded in 1977 by sports journalist John O’Shea. The first programme was a small-scale initiative aimed at feeding vulnerable children in the poorest districts of Kolkata, India (Formerly Calcutta). This programme was funded with the help of an initial £10,000 donation.

Later that same year, GOAL began supporting mother and child healthcare programmes in the villages of West Bengal. The following year GOAL established a mother and child healthcare training centre on the outskirts of Calcutta. This was completed with the assistance of a £30,000 grant from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs (AR 2010).

GOAL has built up a prominent practice of involving high-profile sports stars and celebrities in order to further awareness and advocacy of the organisations efforts. Many of these figures are also patrons and have contributed heavily to the work of the charity over the years. These include Jamie Heaslip, Rachel Allen, Ryan Tubridy, Ian Madigan, Aidan Gillen, David McWilliams, Alan Brogan, Bob Geldoff, Bono, John Mcenroe, Pat Cash and Gordon D’Arcy.

GOAL’s Work

GOAL currently works in 19 (?) countries globally (Website). They are Syria, Turkey, Sudan, South Sudan, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Niger, Sierra Leone, India, Nepal, the Philippines, Honduras, Haiti, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Ukraine & Iraq. Over the last 40 years, GOAL has responded to almost every major international humanitarian crisis, including the recent Ebola crisis and the Syrian War (GOAL Page-Where We Work/AR 2014).

GOAL and its CEO Barry Andrews have long been heavily critical of the United Nations Security Council for a perceived lack of action in relation to major humanitarian crises, notably the West African Ebola Epidemic and the Syrian conflict (TED Talk/IT Ebola Article). Mr Andrews has in the past called for the deployment of Irish Defence forces and HSE staff to assist with the fight against Ebola at the height of the epidemic in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia (RTE BA Ebola Vid). Furthermore, GOAL have called for the implementation of no-fly zones in Syrian airspace in order to secure the supply routes of humanitarian organisations responding to the conflict on the front lines (Derek O’Rourke IT Article).

GOAL has a history of working with other Irish organisations to find solutions for those in need. After the Philippines was hit by Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013, GOAL worked with Aer Lingus to deliver over 40 tonnes of humanitarian aid to survivors (RTE Aer Lingus Article).

Governance

GOAL is headed by its CEO, Barry Andrews, who has held the position since his appointment in 2012. Prior to this, the organisation was headed by its founder John O’Shea (IT Article on BA Appointment). GOAL is a registered charity in Ireland with the Charity Reg No: CHY 6271 (AR 2014). GOAL Global has received certification from the Geneva-based organisation Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP), which works to make humanitarian work more accountable and transparent through self-regulation, compliance verification, and quality assurance certification (HAP Members Page).

GOAL is led and controlled by a Board of Directors which is collectively responsible for ensuring delivery of the organisation’s objectives, for setting its strategic direction, and for upholding its values. Day-to-day management of the organisation is delegated to the Chief Executive Officer and the Senior Management Team. GOAL, GOAL UK, and GOAL USA Fund, each have their own independent Board of Directors that meet regularly during the financial year (AR 2014).

The current Chairperson of the Board is Anne O’Leary who is also the current CEO of Vodafone Ireland. She took over from Pat O’Mahony in 2015 (Website Article on Anne O’Leary Appointment).

As a recipient of public funding, GOAL is committed to demonstrating that it operates to the highest standards of good governance. GOAL adheres to a clearly codified, formally structured and agreed set of governing principles: the Governance Policy of the GOAL Board (AR 2014).

Funding

GOAL receives institutional funding from a variety of sources including the Governments of Ireland, the UK, the USA, Canada, Japan and Australia, as well as from the European Union and the United Nations.

GOAL is also supported by a variety of charitable trusts and foundations in the UK, Ireland and USA, and by the general public through donations, wills, legacies and various fundraising events.

GOAL runs a range of annual fundraising and awareness events around Ireland and internationally. These include the Calcutta Run, Duvet Day, Jersey Day, the GOAL Mile and the GOAL Ball, among others (AR 2014).

Now You Know

The #NowYouKnow campaign was focused on informing members of the public of facts they may wish they had known in the future in relation to the Syrian Conflict. The ongoing campaign saw GOAL engage in a number of public advocacy and street events such as setting up virtual reality exhibitions of what it’s like to be bombed on a Syrian street (Youtube Video on Exhibit)), hosting an exhibition of the world renowned Caesar exhibition (RTE Article on Exhibit) and planting a replica of a missile on Dublin’s South King Street (UTV Article on Rocket).

Write the Future

Write the Future with GOAL is an educational programme and competition for primary and secondary schools. The programme aims to educate students on humanitarian issues and the work that GOAL does in this regard. Write The Future invites students across the country to pen a letter to a public figure or celebrity they are familiar with to highlight a social issue. 2015 was the first year of the competition with over 1,000 students taking part on the topic of ‘Refugees’ (Website-DevEd Section/Connaught Tribune Article).

Further reading

Barry Andrews

Irish Aid

West Africa Ebola Virus Epidemic

Syrian War

References

Annual Report 2010

Annual Report 2014

Irish Times Article on Barry Andrew’s Appointment

Sierra Leone Fact Sheet

Barry Andrews TED Talk

Barry Andrews Ebola Irish Times Article

Humanitarian Accountability Partnership Members

Barry Andrews RTE Interview Ebola

RTE Typhoon Haiyan Aer Lingus Article

Youtube Video on Virtual Reality event

RTE Article on Caesar Exhibition

UTV Article on Rocket Event

Connaught Tribune Article on WTF

Derek O’Rourke Irish Times No Fly Zones

Website Article on Anne O’Leary Article