International employees
International employees work locally for and in our projects, for example as coordinators, theologians or technicians. They are employed either as a specialist by a partner church and partner organization for a specific project or directly by Mission 21 as a coordinator for a specific region. With their commitment, the international staff significantly strengthen our network and the exchange as well as the cooperation with our partners and the impact of our projects.
Africa
Lumumba Togho Mukong, Cameroon, Coordinator
Since April 2016, all projects supported by Mission 21 in Cameroon are supervised by the coordinator Lumumba Mukong. He completed his Master's degree in agricultural economics in England and subsequently worked for various NGOs in Cameroon.
Yakubu Joseph, Nigeria, Coordinator
Since October 2015, Dr. Yakubu Joseph has been working as coordinator for Mission 21 in Nigeria. He holds a PhD in Geography and was a research assistant at the Department of Geography at the University of Tübingen. He also holds an MA in International Peace Studies and an MSC in Sociology. Yakubu Joseph accompanies partner organizations, is responsible for quality assurance in the field and advises partner organizations in Africa in the field of peacebuilding and security.
Adrienne Sweetman, Tanzania, Coordinator
Anthropologist and health expert Adrienne Sweetman has headed Mission 21's coordination office in Tanzania since January 2019. One of her main tasks is organizational and staff development in the partner organizations. Canadian Adrienne Sweetman has already worked in the health sector in Namibia. She has been living and working in Tanzania since 2012. She is married to a Tanzanian and is particularly involved in HIV prevention.
Guliba Florence Hakim, South Sudan, Coordinator
Guliba Florence Hakim has been coordinating Mission 21 projects in South Sudan since July 2021, after assisting the country coordinator for three years. With over seven years of experience in civil society and church work in her home country, she is very well connected in the South Sudanese NGO and church landscape. As a trained mediator and negotiator, she brings a wealth of expertise in peacebuilding and, thanks to her previous involvement, is familiar with ecumenical relations, women's participation and youth engagement.
Dr. Luzia and Dirk Illiger, Isoko/Tanzania
Dr. Luzia and Dirk Illiger worked in Isoko/Tanzania from April 2021 to January 2024.
As a gynecologist, Luzia Illiger supported the midwives and doctors at the rural Isoko hospital. In addition to assisting pregnant women and young mothers, she organized on-site training for local staff.
Dirk Illiger supported the orphan project attached to the hospital as a social worker.Â
Asia
Tobias Brandner, Hong Kong, Lecturer
Tobias Brandner works as Associate Professor of Theology at the Chinese University in Hong Kong. He works part-time in Hong Kong for Mission 21 as a prison chaplain. Tobias Brandner, born in 1965, studied theology and earned his doctorate at the University of Zurich. He has been on mission in Hong Kong with his wife Gabi Baumgartner since 1996. They have three children.
SRF broadcast "Perspectives" about Tobias Brandner's work as a prison chaplain in Hong Kong.
Video portrait about the work of Tobias Brandner (YouTube, Chinese, English UT).
Karmila Yusup, Asia, Coordinator ad interim
The Rev. Karmila Yusup founded Pasundan-Durebang, an Indonesian crisis center for women in West Java, in 2013 to support victims of domestic violence. The center has also become a safe place for Indonesian migrant workers returning from Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Malaysia.
Daniel Gloor, Malaysia, Lecturer
Daniel Gloor is a primary school teacher and holds a doctorate in theology. He has been working on behalf of Mission 21 as a lecturer at Sabah Theological Seminary (STS) in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, since 2005. From 2009 to 2013, he taught at the Universidad BÃblica Latinoamericana (UBL) in Costa Rica, after which he returned to STS. He brings his pedagogical and theological skills as well as his broad intercultural and interreligious background to his work with students.
Ueli Knecht, Indonesia/Malaysia, Fair Trade Expert
Ueli Knecht regularly travels to Borneo on short assignments, where he works as a consultant for Mission 21, mainly on the project "Income for women producers of handicraft products". Before that, the work teacher and graphic designer lived for twenty years mainly in Cameroon and three years in Indonesia, working in the field of fair trade. His responsibilities included leading workshops for women producers, assisting with product development, and providing organizational and financial advice to Fair Trade projects.
Latin America
Jannet Villanueva Escudero, Coordinator Bolivia & Peru
Jannet joined the Latin America Program in July 2023 as the Food Sovereignty & Gender Justice Thematic Area Coordinator. The has many years of work experience in the topics of agroecological agriculture, women's empowerment and gender justice. As an organic smallholder farmer, Jannet lived and worked in the rural central Andes of Peru for 10 years before working for different ministries in the field of income generation for smallholder women farmers and food aid levy, among others. Jannet has now been using her experience for almost 20 years in International Cooperation in Bolivia, Colombia and Peru.Â
