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Cord is governed by a group of Trustees who are accountable to the Charity Commission in acCordance with UK law. As well as providing governance they also shape strategic direction in conjunction with the management team.
Trustees are appointed on the basis of their skills, passion and experience to collectively form a balanced and strong team. Each has a strong Christian faith in line with Cord’s values.
Current professional skills include accountancy, business, journalism, marketing, and medicine. Additionally one trustee is currently based in Africa, one of the areas where Cord is active. Trustees meet on average 6 times per year to conduct business, as well as supporting sub-groups as required. The spirit of Trustee meetings is to be professional in providing the support and decision making required to expand and deepen the charity’s work, acting under God’s direction.
Malcolm Franks - Chair
I have been a Cord Trustee for several years and am the Managing Director of my own IT company based in Warwick. Having been in international business for many years I am keen to lend my experience to Cord at this exciting time.
So often we talk about world needs, but find it hard to do anything meaningful about them, Cord gives me an opportunity to contribute.
Cord is an organisation of wonderful people doing excellent work, often in very difficult circumstances and with limited recognition across the UK.
As trustees we want to help Cord transform from a 'well kept secret' into an effective leader in restoring peace, community and prosperity to people reeling from the effects of conflict. Why not join us?
Daniel Bruce
A broadcast journalist by trade, I became involved with Cord seven years’ ago as News Editor of ‘The Bear’, now Touch Radio, and subsequently as Regional Managing Editor of the CN Radio Group in the Midlands.
At that time British and American forces had launched military action in Afghanistan in the wake of the 9-11 terrorist attacks; Cord was preparing to work with partners in the region to support Afghans displaced by the conflict. This was duly reflected by my team of journalists.
In 2004, I spent several weeks with Cord’s programme in Zambia, profiling the support and rehabilitation of Angolan refugees. The series of reports were recognised at the One World Media Awards 2005, the only nomination for a UK commercial radio journalist.
I became a Cord trustee in 2007 and earlier this year I left the UK to head up the Uganda programme of the international media development organisation, Internews Network, becoming the first Cord trustee to be based overseas.
I am very fortunate to work in part of the world where Cord is also active. IYEP, one of Cord’s partners in Northern Uganda has its base on the same road as the Internews staff residence.
There is really no substitute for personally experiencing the challenges faced by an area so very scarred by years of conflict, and where much fear and suspicion remain. It has crystallised my understanding of Cord’s confliction transformation aims and the charity’s role in promoting a lasting peace.
In a region such as Northern Uganda, where the modes of conflict were so deeply cruel and divisive, forgiveness and reconciliation must happen person by person. I strongly believe Cord’s approach and Christian values can be a tremendous accelerant for this process. I remain an active contributor to Cord Trustee Council meetings thanks to the satellite link at the Internews centre in Uganda.
David Mckay
I am a Chartered Accountant and Finance Director of A Rocha International, a Christian conservation and environmental charity.
I became involved with Cord 10 years ago through my local church and a trustee since 2003. It has been great seeing and hearing about the amazing things God has done in the lives of many people in Asia and Africa through the work of Cord.
In 2006, my wife, Angela and I had the privilege to go to visit refugee camps in Zambia. We heard first-hand how much Cord has changed their lives; helped with the healing of their hurts from the past; given them hope, and equipped them with skills for the future.
I have always been grateful to God for providing Cord with the enthusiastic staff and financial resources needed.
Eeva John
I trained as a Research Chemist, before joining Cord in the eighties, as Assistant to the charity’s Country Director in Sudan; a 4½ -year stint working with Eritrean refugees who had fled the civil war and famine in Ethiopia.
It meant re-establishing community and restoring dignity to refugees by creating livelihoods for people through skills training and small business opportunities. It meant bringing hope to young people through education, and it meant preparing refugees for civil society in peacetime as they eventually returned to their homeland when the war was over.
I returned to the UK office as Development Officer from 1995 to 1998, and subsequently as Head of Personnel. Today I work at Trinity College Bristol, a Church of England theological college.
I have always been deeply convinced that Christians are all called to respond to injustice and conflict. In our global village this means that people who suffer even in far flung places are ‘our business’ because the love of Christ compels us to act. I am excited by the way that God continues to work through Cord with people who have experienced the ravages of some of the most evil of conflicts and the most appalling need.
Jacquie Williams
I am a GP working on the edge of the Cotswolds. My husband is also a GP and we have three young children. We often struggle to accept why we have so much, when others have so little, especially after our experience of working in rural Brazil.
Cord’s aims to keep UK office costs down, and to work with the communities they serve to enable them to realise their inherent potential, makes the charity stand out in its field. It has been a privilege to be a trustee over the past three years and be part of the changing journey they are taking.
The role has never felt onerous because of the team’s professionalism, passion for their work, shared purpose, commitment and overriding great sense of humour.
I look forward to sharing an exciting future with Cord.
Adrian Bailey
I am a Chartered Civil Engineer and project manager based in North London. My wife Anne had served with Cord as a nurse working with Cambodian refugees who were living in camps on the Thai-Cambodian border. We kept in touch with Cord and in the early 1990's we were privileged to go to Cambodia for two years where I was Country Director.
Having gone with the expectation of making a sacrifice for others, I returned to the UK knowing that I had gained far more from the experience than I had contributed. You could see the direct impact of the work we were doing on improving people's lives. In 1999 I also worked for Cord in a refugee camp in Albania.
Having seen first hand the positive impact Cord could have on peoples lives I was pleased to be invited to continue to be a part of something so worthwhile. Whilst many things in the world have changed there are still great needs that Christians must play their part in addressing.
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