Martin Dillon:MARTIN DILLON, who died suddenly aged 53, was a senior member of Concern Worldwide, having spent 30 years working in the development sector, predominantly in Africa.
A committed humanitarian, he joined Concern as a volunteer in Bangladesh in 1978 and had been working as country director for the aid agency in Zambia at the time of his death.
Born on November 11th, 1954, in Kildysart, Co Clare, he grew up on a small farm as the eldest of four children. His father died when he was just six. While some in his situation might have been forced to stay at home, to run the family business, he was given the chance to further his education.
After leaving St Flannan's secondary school in Ennis, he studied agricultural science at UCD and, almost immediately after graduation, joined Concern in Chittagong, Bangladesh. There, he found himself working under Fr Jack Finucane, one of the aid agency's founders, who was country director in Bangladesh.
Dillon returned to Ireland for a year in 1981 before going back to Bangladesh in 1982 with the Swiss-based Lutheran World Federation (LWF). He served as agriculture co-ordinator of Rangpur Dinajpur Rehabilitation Service in the north of the country and instigated improved farming techniques, most notably the promotion of a locally produced bamboo treadle pump for irrigation.
He also actively encouraged tree plantations along roads and embankments with the aim of making communities more self-sustaining.
Having secured a Master's in Agriculture from Reading University in 1985, he spent the next 15 years with LWF in Uganda, arriving in the country as it was just emerging from a long-running civil war.
He first worked as the programme co-ordinator in Karamoja, where LWF managed a rural development project. By 1990 he took over as country director. He also expanded the LWF programme to Rakai, where the HIV/Aids pandemic in Uganda was most devastating.
During his time in Uganda, Dillon met Rebecca Gashaw, whom he married in Kampala in 1995. The wedding had to be postponed for a year as Dillon was caught up in emergency relief work arising from the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
His family grew with the arrival of Michelle and Christopher, now aged 12 and 9, respectively. In 1998, he built a small house on an island in Lake Victoria, which he adored visiting at weekends and for holidays with his family.
He always kept in touch with Concern and rejoined the agency in early 2002 as country director for south Sudan, based in Nairobi. There, he continued his commitment to the poor by responding to various emergencies and working to improve the food security of thousands of people by promoting better farming methods.
Responsible for 250 local staff and 15 international staff, as well as a budget of €6 million annually, Dillon gained widespread respect for his unassuming and sympathetic nature. A great listener, he would spend hours in debate with indigenous farmers about production techniques.
In a typical initiative, he arranged for nutrition teams to use bicycles and boats - modes of transport more commonly used by locals - to reach remote villages, rather than 4x4 vehicles, which, he found, were unsuitable for rainy season.
After six years in Sudan, Dillon took up the fresh challenge last August of Concern country director in Zambia.
A passionate Clareman, he closely followed the county hurlers wherever he was in the world. He also enjoyed a cigarette and a whiskey, and liked to escape with the occasional book or movie. Much of his spare time, however, was taken up with pet-projects, and friends paying tribute to him this week joked that his idea of relaxation was building a tree-house or a kitchen extension.
He would have turned 54 last Tuesday. He is survived by his wife Rebecca; children Christopher and Michelle; sister Margaret and brothers Liam and Michael.
Martin Dillon: born November 11th, 1954; died November 5th, 2008