Outgoing director Dr Raymond Perrier with new director Bridget Ward inside the Denis Hurley Centre in Durban.
Image: Supplied
The Denis Hurley Centre (DHC) has appointed a new director to succeed Dr Raymond Perrier who has been with the centre since it opened in January 2015.
They have named Bridget Ward who has extensive experience in business and faith-based organisations. Ward has worked with several large organisations in a product development and marketing role including MTN, Standard Bank and IMM. For the past 12 years she has been with a Durban based organisation committed to the upliftment of society through the provision of Christian education.
At Perrier’s own request the DHC Trustees have been looking for a successor.
Ward says she was drawn to the DHC as it “inspires hope for the poor by consistently showing up, providing authentic care. By recognising the value of even the most marginalised, we pass on hope and inspire faith.”
She graduated with a Bachelor in Social Science from UKZN. She was brought up in a Catholic home and has fond memories of her convent primary school; while she was married at Fatima Church in Durban North, she now attends Immanuel Church in Somerset Park.
While drawing on her own strong faith, she also recognises the DHC’s success in bringing together people of different faith traditions: “The social perils of our world are enormous and I won't pretend otherwise. No single one of us can fix them alone. When we act together, as a body, all the small acts of kindness add up to something far bigger than any one person or organisation could achieve.”
Her initial awareness of the DHC was through her sons (whose school regularly sends volunteers) and her husband who is CEO of PhotoNote which supplies the centre’s photocopying and printing needs.
Ward, who is in her mid 50s, will start in the middle of September and work side-by-side with Perrier in an extensive handover period. During that time, she will have a chance to meet some of the many organisations and individuals who have partnered with the DHC.
Perrier commended the Board on her selection. “It has taken almost two years to find the right person – during which time both the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury have been replaced. I am confident that we have found the right person to lead the DHC. The organisation needs a person with a strong faith, a good business head, a passion for the poor and a creative flair. I share the Trustees belief that Bridget is that person.”
Chair of the Trustees, Canon Dr Delysia Timm said: “Bridget brings with her a strong commitment to justice, human dignity, compassion and community, values that are at the heart of the Centre’s mission. We are confident that she will build on the Centre’s strong legacy while bringing fresh energy, vision and creativity to its work.”
Perrier, who is originally from the UK, is planning to stay in South Africa though spending more time in Johannesburg where his husband is based. His immediate next focus will be to work on a book as a Research Fellow of the Centre for Faith and Community at the University of Pretoria.
