God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

01/27/2015 • 11:04 pm Comments Off on Leaving Rio de Janeiro

Leaving Rio de Janeiro

Wow, what for a city and after Salvador da Bahia and other Brazilian places one gets really in the mood of Samba and a seemingly easy lifestyle. The visit in the first favela settlement on the mountain of “providencia” in Rio reminded us going into the “slum” that life conditions can be harsh. Like everywhere broken promises of politicians, false or disappointed hopes of a better life and an unbelievable strong sense for religion partnering the life of those at the margins of society. And amazing for me as a priest the combination of old African religion and Christianity – syncretism in the highest form but seemingly tolerated in society or at least ignored by those preaching the gospel in various official churches as we know them around the world. A real rainbow nation and if South Africa can learn from Brazil as a BRICS country then it is to live and let live the different cultures and traditions in a way worth a rainbow nation. And on the HIV/AIDS front Brazil learned quick that antiretrovirals are the better option than the African potato and that a network of care and the production and service delivery for all affected and infected including proper medication is a must. Of course, there are also similarities – time management, improvisation on the highest level with often a good result, crime in various cities, corruption on all levels of society, a brutal gap between rich and poor – there is room for joined ventures which would benefit both countries. For me the visit was a real enrichment – the various encounters will stay with me and I know already that this will not be the last visit in this huge country. Travelling the world means to learn a lot – but often there is nobody home who wants to listen to what one has experienced. We are all to busy with our own affairs. How much do I wish that all would have the opportunity to see what I have seen alone in the last 7 days. But that remains a dream – but with social media like Facebook and others one can at least share a glimpse of the colourful reality of the world around us and take this as a starting point for more attentive discussion how other countries manage their affairs and how we in South Africa can benefit from it.

Filed under: General, Politics and Society, Reflection, Society and living environment, , , , , , , , , , , ,

01/14/2015 • 9:53 pm Comments Off on World without Aids Award – Berlin 2015

World without Aids Award – Berlin 2015

Being honored in absentia is an interesting feeling – or better a mix of feelings: Being grateful for the honor of receiving the “World without Aids” Award, feeling sorry for not being able to attend the ceremony, feeling committed to a prior agreed engagement as a chaplain at sea. Sometimes roles clashes, but very often they support each other: being a priest, a chaplain, an activist, a chairperson. This time it was not possible to accommodate all roles on this particular day.
This award makes me feel humble – it is a recognition of work done, but mostly I feel it is a challenge to continue doing what one does best and to continue fighting for a world without Aids. I can only do this, if I have the support of so many – the employees of HOPE Cape Town, the boards of HOPE Cape Town Trust and Association, the multitude of sponsors and donors and partners like the German Aids Foundation or “Hope and Future e.V.” or Saxonia Systems and Process Consulting and all the others named on the HOPE Cape Town’s website.
So once again thank you to those having awarded me the recognition; congratulations to the other awardee Prof Rita Suessmuth – thanks to Manuel Neuer from Bayern Munich for the kind words and all I ask is that you all continue assisting in the dream of a world without Aids… It’s possible…

German AIDS Foundation honors Rev Father Stefan Hippler and Prof Rita Suessmuth
On Saturday evening, 10 January 2015, the 21st Festive Opera Gala for the German AIDS Foundation took place at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. More than 2000 high-profiled guests from visited the event. The new main sponsor, Audi, presented a cheque of 200,000 Euros to the Honorary Chairman of the German AIDS-Foundation, Prof Dr Rita Süssmuth. Overall, the German AIDS-Foundation expects a total of around 500,000 Euros for this year.
The money will go into important aid projects of the German AIDS Foundation in Germany, South Africa and Mozambique. The next Festive Opera Gala in Berlin will take place on 7 November 2015.This year the winners of the “World without AIDS Award” were Rev Fr Stefan Hippler and Prof Dr Rita Süssmuth. Via video message, Manuel Neuer gave the laudation for Rev Fr Stefan Hippler. The soccer star honored the work of the founder of HOPE Cape Town, an organisation that supports especially children with HIV/AIDS in South Africa.
The former Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, honored Prof Dr Rita Süssmuth for her many decades of fighting against AIDS.
For the German AIDS Foundation, the Festive Opera Gala is the most glamorous and most important charity event since 1994. Since many years Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, acts as chairman for this evening. The Charity Gala received more than 6.2 million Euros in the last 20 years. With the income of the 21st Festive Opera Gala the German AIDS Foundation is going to support projects in Berlin as well as in Southern Africa.

Filed under: General, HOPE Cape Town Association, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Trust, Networking, Reflection, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

12/30/2014 • 9:56 am 1

… and a happy new year 2015

Wishing everybody a great start into 2015 and please remember, that there remains always one problem with all the resolutions for the new year:
You take yourself with into 2015  🙂
and change will not come overnight but gradually.
So be wise,
resolve to take small steps
to become more mature,
more joyful,
more enlightened,
more faithful,
more yourself
–
and at the end
you will become the person
God saw in you
already from the very beginning.

Blessings and the feeling of unconditional love

Fr Stefan

Filed under: Catholic Church, Center of Healing, General, HIV and AIDS, HIV Prevention, HIV Treatment, HOPE Cape Town Association, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Trust, HOPE Gala Dresden, Medical and Research, Networking, Politics and Society, Reflection, Religion and Ethics, SA-German Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

12/16/2014 • 7:41 am Comments Off on HOPE reflection

HOPE reflection

This is a text I came across and it pictures exactly what HOPE Cape Town is about… or better what makes the people of HOPE Cape Town work so hard…

HOPE

Deep within ourselves we carry hope. If that is not the case, there is no hope.

Hope is a quality of the soul, regardless of what is happening in the world. Hope is not prediction or seeing into the future.
It is an attitude of the mind and spirit, an attitude of the heart, anchored beyond horizon.

Hope is this deep and powerful sense and is not the same as joy because everything is going well, or willingness to aim for something that may lead to success.

Hope is working towards a goal because it is good, not because there is a chance of achievement.

Hope is not the same of optimism; neither the conviction that something will end well.
It is the conviction that something is worthwhile,
regardless of the outcome,
regardless of the result

Filed under: General, Reflection, Uncategorized, , , , ,

12/10/2014 • 7:54 am Comments Off on Year end function

Year end function

250 000 patient contacts, hundreds of visitors, hundreds of study hours and training sessions – it would be interesting to statistically summarize every aspect of the work of our 36 dedicated staff from HOPE Cape Town – but all these figures would not reflect what is really important: the dedication of each and everybody, the ability to go sometimes through tough times and quite some challenges in the personal and work life. It’s about people, HOPE Cape Town is about people, those working within the organization and those being the beneficiaries of this work.

At the end, before the holiday season starts and the journeys home to relatives and family sometimes far away, before work ceases for the year, there is the year-end function. A time to reflect, to let the year go pass in some speeches, to honor some who have done not only a great job but excelled expectations and to give a hint what lies before the organization in 2015.

The way forward is never easy – HIV and AIDS are not sexy, nor do they attract the necessary attention in Europe where most of our sponsors live and work. It seems that Ebola has beaten HIV awareness and the 35 million people worldwide living with the HI virus can’t count on the attention of the rest of the world. But let’s be frank: HIV is not going away very soon and pulling out of research or development of new medication doesn’t help. Nor the ignorance of governments thinking they have done their bit already. It’s a well know fact but one has to emphasize it again and again: If all the money or even a fraction of it which went into wars, into torture,  black holes and rendition, into spying on each other would have put into research and more meaningful things the world would look better and the HIV crisis might have been come to an end. Instead we push the goals of a HIV free generation and treatment for all more far away and celebrate this at conferences as a success.
Yes, there is success, but it could be so much more, yes there is progress, but it could be so much more, yes we are going in the right direction, but I still wish for more.

Here in South Africa statistics look better and when it comes to children, there is progress: the rate of HIV positive born children declined but let’s be honest: we can do better and every child born positive is one to many. And those being born positive have more challenges to tackle, amongst others often poverty and difficulties in early childhood development.

So, let’s today celebrate and be thankful for all the opportunities we had this year to make this world, to make South Africa and the communities, we are working in a better place. And after a well deserved rest let’s start in 2015 to work hard again towards more life, more hope, more perspective in the lives of those children and families carrying the burden of HIV, AIDS or related illnesses.

Filed under: General, HIV and AIDS, HOPE Cape Town Association, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Trust, Reflection, , , , , , , , ,

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