'What gives us a rootedness and legitimacy is that we are rooted in a faith community in Britain and Ireland of people who passionately believe in praying, acting and giving.'

Last week, Daleep Mukarji OBE left Christian Aid after 12 years as its Director. He spoke to Surefish Editor Andy Jackson about the highs, the lows and what he plans to do in the future

You worked as a Christian Aid partner in South India and then for the World Council of Churches in Geneva so how much of a culture shock was it taking over as director?

Not all that much because I was already working on issues of development and poverty eradication and second I was working in the ecumenical movement so I knew both the issues and the idea of churches in development.

What I didn’t know was Britain and how the sponsoring churches were organised so the first cultural shock was how devolved and how much the UK and British nation is actually four nations in one, and our churches are particularly very nationalist by and large.

The reality when I go to Wales and talk about a national conference is that I meant a conference for the whole of the UK and they meant a conference for Wales. That was something I had to learn and get used to.

Was working for so many churches a challenge?

If you’ve been working in the ecumenical movement, as I have for over 30 years, you’d know working with a large number of churches is not easy. The World Council of Churches has 365 churches as members from all over the world and all over the confessions, and in India I worked for the National Council of Churches in the agency Christian Medical Association of India.

But I also believe that churches working together is important: they have an important message to give to society. We should not get bogged down by our problems and differences but to see where it is we can agree and how can we witness to a Gospel that must be good news.

What is your proudest achievement with Christian Aid and, if different, what do you think is the organisation’s proudest achievement?

It’s difficult for me to say what my proudest achievement is because, for instance, always I try to see what we can do together, that is Christian Aid as a totality: the staff, the supports, the partners, the sponsoring churches and our various stakeholders.

I think on our various campaigning issues, whether it was the debt relief campaign or the Make Poverty History campaign or more recently the climate change campaign, sometimes working in coalitions, we really have made an impact on government, in the international community, the World Bank, the IMF [International Monetary Fund] and the G20.

I think for the churches, and more importantly for their agency Christian Aid, to have a Christian presence at this table, trying to build and have a movement that influences is important. It’s not my achievement but our achievement.

If you had the chance to go back and do anything differently, what would that be?

That’s not an easy question to answer because you can always look back and say that I could have done something differently, but when you look at the totality of 12 years, it’s been a wonderful experience for me and I’ve enjoyed it, loved it, and got paid for it, and believe in it.

I think I would have loved to do more travelling to see our partners overseas. It’s nice to do that. But it’s also important to be here at critical times and what our partners do is a fantastic job.

I’m very proud of our international department, the decentralisation we’ve achieved and the ways we’ve empowered our staff and our offices overseas, and through this get closer to our partners.

What were your best and worst moments as director?

Two things are in my mind – first is that it is not always easy to be the churches’ agency. One of the problems of being part of the ecumenical movement is that you’re owned by all of the churches and that you’re nobody’s baby.

Trying to keep churches to know that this is their agency has not always been easy, and I felt sad sometimes when the churches, and their leaders, have not adequately understood and supported Christian Aid’s work, although by and large their support has been very much there but I wish I’d got more of it and spent more time on it.

Also, this last year in dealing with reality of the financial crisis and the changes that one had to make in Christian Aid and the fact that I had to tell lots of good people that I was sorry but there’s no more space for you here. It was painful for them and was painful for me but it was necessary and I think Christian Aid will come out stronger.

This financial crisis has affected everyone, including developing countries where our partners are suffering. I think we have managed it as best as we could but being in charge and then having to take Christian Aid through a downsizing process is never easy.

The happy thing that I really liked was the recent climate change and tax campaign has been extremely effective – we’ve had a lot of compliments.

Is there anything you would like to have achieved?

I wish we had reached the £100m [per year] target but I’m not too disappointed because we’ve done quite well in the recession. I think there are two challenges: one is that for a lot of people still think that poverty eradication is about giving more money and more aid.

There’s much more to poverty, its root causes, how power is misused, how people in countries are exploited, and I think that challenge of trying to get government and others to realise it’s not just about more aid. We have a consensus on the aid agenda but not on the root causes of poverty.

What will you miss the most?

I will miss the friends and colleagues I have. Your staff and colleagues become your friends and I know I must step down and step aside but I hope I can keep in touch with them.

At a very personal level, I’m going to miss the support I get from my Executive Assistant, Fang Fang Lam now and before her Lucy, I am spoilt and productive because of I have staff doing things for me.

I’m going to be on my own in a different world! I can no longer call Richard from IT or ask Fang-Fang where a particular file is, support that has made it easier for me to get things done.

What’s next for you?

I have a few hobbies but my wife and I are going to spend some time travelling and going to musicals and shows and concerts because London has got so much to offer, and I’ve not always been able to go to exhibitions at The V&A or British Museum – the one about India was one that my relatives came and saw but I was unable to see!

I am retiring from Christian Aid but I don’t want a full time job but I can’t give up my passion and commitment to poverty eradication and social justice. I’ll see what God wants me to do next. I am taking a bit of a holiday first though and time off from work.

If there’s something I can do in the charity sector, the church sector or the development sector whether public, private or NGO, I’ll be happy to do that.

The thing is to be occupied to be doing the things one likes doing but not be so occupied that there’s no time for hobbies, for oneself, for your family or for one’s personal growth so I must go back to reading, and maybe even an Open University course.

What would be the single best piece of advice for your successor, Loretta Minghella?

I would say don’t take my advice! Feel free to do it your way. It’s a wonderful organisation, with an essential purpose, a great team and a huge lot of support in the churches and in the country. You’ll have my prayers and my support.

Finally, what would be your message for supporters?

Thank you. There’s no Christian Aid without your prayers and support, without your generous giving not only of money but of time. The number of volunteers with Christian Aid Week and with our campaigns is truly fantastic.

What gives us a rootedness and legitimacy is that we are rooted in a faith community in Britain and Ireland of people who passionately believe in praying, acting and giving, and that’s the voice I use to try and influence government and the international community.

I would have no voice of my own if there wasn’t this lovely supporter base. To them thank you. This organisation is healthy in spite of a difficult year but it’s had difficult years before and I honestly believe that the best is still to come.

I will be a Christian Aid supporter and I look forward to what Christian Aid is doing. I’ll be a volunteer, donor and a supporter, but I’ll not be a staff member.