Wednesday saw the formal unveiling of ACT Alliance, a merger of the disaster relief network ACT International and its partner organization ACT Development. ACT Alliance now acts as an umbrella body and coordinates all agencies related to the World Council of Churches in the areas of humanitarian emergencies and poverty reduction.
The general secretary of ACT Alliance, said that this new body provides the opportunity “to better link emergency humanitarian assistance and sustainable development.”
He went on to say that “When the emergency is over, and the funds run out, churches continue to be present; they are the organization at the end of the street or village, which remains when all others have gone. The ACT Alliance, with our faith to guide us and the continued support of all our partners and friends to sustain our work, can continue to bring relief to the needy, support to the oppressed and development to the impoverished."
In the aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami, church-based relief agencies were critiqued for the lack of teamwork which resulted in redundant works and wastage of resources. Thus, ACT is an attempt to redress this situation. The world wide fellowship of churches were much more effectively organized through ACT during the Haiti earthquake, and the combination of the two agencies is an attempt to even further improve communication and teamwork.
WCC General Secretary the Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit said on Wednesday that “the ACT Alliance is a genuine expression of the ecumenical movement, the call to be one so that the world can believe that God is a loving and caring God for all humankind.”
ACT Alliance is an umbrella covering for more than 100 organizations working in long-term development and humanitarian assistance, and employs about 30,000 staff and volunteers working in 125 countries the Christian Post said.
(Read the full story at http://christianpost.com)