'I didn't set out to do this': Cork man on his humanitarian work with GOAL

Cork man Bernard McCaul on choosing to work in the humanitarian aid sector and what drives him to make life better for complete strangers

Bernard McCaulin the remote La Mosquitia Region of Honduras where GOAL runs a Blue Economy programme, supporting local artisanal fishermen

I never set out to work in the humanitarian aid sector and trained as a civil engineer, graduating from UCC in 1993. I worked for 12 years on the design and construction of large water infrastructure projects in Ireland. But I was drawn to GOAL’s work, inspired by its mission and can do, attitude. In particular how it responded to major crisis.

I took a sabbatical from work to get involved in GOAL’s response to Hurricane Mitch in Central America, followed by the Asian Tsunami response in December 2004, where I was able to use my skills as a civil engineer. I returned to Ireland to continue my career as a consulting engineer, but when the earthquake struck Haiti in 2010 I joined GOAL’s Latin America and Caribbean team, and have stayed with the agency ever since, currently in the position of Latin America Regional Director for GOAL.