ACT Int'l Director to Serve as Head of New ACT Alliance
The director of Action by Churches Together (ACT) International has been appointed to serve as the general secretary of the soon-to-be-formalized ACT Alliance, which will bring together ACT International and ACT Development.
With 25,000 staff and 17,000 volunteers, the ACT Alliance will be one of the biggest humanitarian networks in the world once it is formally established on Jan. 1, 2010.
Presently, as a global alliance of churches and related agencies, ACT International is working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide. ACT Development, meanwhile, is an alliance aimed at eradicating poverty, injustice and the abuse of human rights.
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The new network, which will have up to 160 member organizations with a total budget of $1.8 billion, will work on humanitarian emergencies, development issues and include advocacy activities on global issues.
"As a Christian organization, we want to express our values, like trust and respect," commented Nduna. "People are to be treated equally, as creation of God. And we don't segregate after religion."
As general secretary, Zambia-born Nduna will be the front figure of the new alliance, and will draw the profile of the new alliance.
"My job is to get others to succeed," said Nduna, who has served as director of ACT International since 2006.
"My task is to get the alliance known to the world through the work of the members," he added. "We want the activities to be seen as high quality work."
Aside from his role at ACT International, Nduna has served as manager for the Kenya-based Church Ecumenical Action in Sudan and worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the LWF Department for World Service (DWS) field offices in Africa.
The 1979 University of Zambia graduate has also worked with refugees in Kenya, Mozambique and Tanzania.
In addition to Nduna's appointment as general secretary, the Interim Governing Board of ACT Alliance also appointed Jill Hawkey as the new deputy general secretary.
Hawkey, who is today the director of ACT Development, has worked with ecumenical organization for many years and has been the director of Christian World Service in New Zealand.
Hawkey has a master's degree in development studies and has a background as a social worker.
Nduna, meanwhile, has a bachelor's degree majoring in economics and has had a career in banking.
