Irish Peacekeepers in Lebanon take part in the GOAL Mile Christmas Charity Run

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Irish soldiers in Lebanon were among the thousands of people here and abroad who participated in this year’s GOAL Mile race today.

Members of the 117 IrishPolBatt serving with the UNIFIL multinational peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, under the command of Lt. Col. Fred O’Donovan, completed their mile this morning.

The GOAL Mile event, which would normally draw thousands of people at different events across Ireland, had to be held virtually this year.

Lieutenant Colonel O’Donovan said: “This is a Christmas day like no other as Covid-19 impacts around the world.

“Members of Battalion 117 are not home this Christmas with our families as we continue our tour of duty here in South Lebanon.

“But we are delighted to do our GOAL Mile today and to support the vulnerable communities that GOAL supports in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.”

GOAL helps support vulnerable communities in 13 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

For this year’s online event, GOAL encouraged people to run the Christmas mile at a time and place of their choice, and to do so within their own social bubble to avoid larger group gatherings.

GOAL Executive Director Siobhan Walsh thanked everyone who participated in today’s event.

Ms. Walsh also tried to remind people that there was still plenty of time to register and complete a virtual GOAL Mile sometime during the holiday period.

She said: “I want to extend a word of thanks to each and every person in Ireland and around the world for coming together as a global family this Christmas to make a difference. Thank you for your humanity.

“This year has seen all of our lives turned upside down in ways unimaginable just 12 months ago. The impact of Covid-19 has been profound in the 13 countries GOAL works in, exacerbated by the unresolved humanitarian issues plaguing progress, including climate change, world hunger, access to clean water, basic health care and sustainable livelihoods “.

“Since March, our teams have implemented a wide range of activities to reach more than 17 million people with the knowledge and support of Covid-19. This would not have been possible without the generous support of the people of Ireland ”.



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