God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

06/20/2014 • 6:12 am 1

Observation on a cruise

TV display on the MS Artania

TV display on the MS Artania

Being away as the chaplain for a cruise is certainly a break away from the daily duties and a welcome change in the normal work routine. But obviously it seems that HOPE Cape Town is somehow everywhere on my shoulder it does not matter where I go or travel.
Being on the MS Artania now and chatting to one of the guests I discover she is from Dresden and her son works for the “Schauspielhaus”. So there it is again: the “HOPE-connection” without even knowing each other at first.
And those who know already about my work do want to know how it is going. So one could say travelling the world and doing pastoral work for the people and marketing HOPE Cape Town goes hand in hand.
And it is true: somehow HOPE Cape Town seems to be an integral part of my life and sometimes I wonder whether I ever have the chance to escape of being sort of “Mr HOPE” one day. And the next question coming up is whether I really want this change in my life.
Giving a talk on a cruise ship about HOPE Cape Town is always a challenge. The guests present on the ship are here to enjoy a stress and worry free holiday – most haven chosen to dip into the world of cruises to have the time of their lives. Of course they are visiting different countries and automatically also hear and see the miseries of poverty and other downsides of society. And the reactions are very diverse: some romanticize, others ignore, some complain about even being exposed to it and I know of travellers who freely admit, that they don’t take cruises to Africa or South America because they don’t want to see “it”.
Here I feel my role as a chaplain can bridge the gap and when it happens, interesting discussions will follow, not only in the ‘question and answer spot” after the talk but also during the whole journey.

Filed under: HOPE Cape Town Association, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Trust, HOPE Gala Dresden, Reflection, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , ,

05/23/2014 • 11:16 am Comments Off on 8 years… gosh…

8 years… gosh…

Hope_Logo_RGB_TRUSTSocial media and webpages have not only a meaning to connect people with each other, but also to remind oneself of time flying. There are always these birthday reminders which I truly love as they cover up my forgetfulness. 🙂 But also other achievements are noted and pop up and then people respond. This month LinkedIn reminded me that the HOPE Cape Town Trust is already 8 years in existence – born on the 6.5.2006 and I really cannot believe that the eight years have flown by so far. I generally have a problem with feeling time – it seems to me, that somewhere in the thirties my mindset stopped and refused to grow really older, but continued (hopefully 🙂 ) to mature with times. So the funny feeling is that the body grows older, the wrinkles are more but the mind is still as fresh as it has been years ago.
Getting older as an organization means that one has to look again and again staying relevant and reading the signs of the times instead of resting on old achievements and expecting the rest of the world to do cherish them for eternity. The HOPE Cape Town Trust was founded with the vision that one day the Trust takes over the marketing and fundraising arm of HOPE Cape Town as an entity. After finding its feet and developing in the shadow of the HOPE Cape Town Association we are now at the point where exactly this is happening. A vision becomes reality and it is instantly replaced by new and other challenges and it is great to see the dynamics of thought 8 years ago creating new opportunities for an NGO in our times. It’s a dynamic which makes it so important to know where you are coming from, where you roots are and only so, you are able to reach out for the stars in the future. Fascinating…
Thanks to all and everybody who supported HOPE Cape Town and specially the HOPE Cape Town Trust in the last 8 years. A special thanks to Evelyn Chimbobe-Munoro who drafted the first deed of trust pro-bono at her Fairbridges Attorneys offices at that time and a memento to Auntie Pat (Gorvalla) who already passed on to higher services. Today, trustees from South Africa, Switzerland and Germany are safeguarding the future of HOPE Cape Town and I am convinced that the future looks bright for the HOPE Cape Town Trust and the organization HOPE Cape Town as an entity. It is also good to know that we have a little sister trust in Germany called the HOPE Kapstadt Stiftung, which is a brainchild of HOPE Cape Town and the German Aids Foundation, born 2007 in Bonn (Germany).
Executive CommitteeAs we stretch out to the USA in the moment let’s wait and see what will be added to the growing HOPE Cape Town family in the near future.
(on the picture right the Executive Committee Sam Dibhesi Tuntubele, Carole Armstrong-Hooper, Stefan Hippler and Detlev Geiss)

Filed under: General, HOPE Cape Town Trust, Reflection, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

05/19/2014 • 2:16 pm Comments Off on A normal Monday morning @ HOPE Cape Town

A normal Monday morning @ HOPE Cape Town

What happens in an NGO in between all the news, events and charity functions? It’s the normality of work, all HOPE Community Health Workers report to their respective clinic and are committed again for the first day of often hard and challenging work at the Primary Health Care Facility. The senior staff is meeting every Monday morning at 9 am for an hour to catch up and communicate what is on the agenda for everybody during the week. There is also time to reflect on the last week or anything which happened in between. Besides all portfolios reported on there is always the questions about possible visitors at HOPE Cape Town or questions which have been arisen from previous days. At 10 am the so-called back office is meeting which includes all the people covering “marketing and fundraising”. As HOPE Cape Town raises most funds from private sponsors or other non-profit NGO’s there are always items on the list to discuss like how to write proposals, how to report hack; basically all the communication structures. We are doing charity work and we have to talk about it – otherwise possible donors and sponsors will not find us. After that there are various other meetings – the PowerPoint presentation has to be updated, the new “HOPE to HOME” program needs attention, and even the very trivial question of access to parking at a University can bind some workforce for hours.
The beauty of HOPE Cape Town is among other things, that there is a very motivated team of people interacting on so many different levels. And exciting developments happen in the moment: on the care level the HOPE to HOME project has been launched last week  and HOPE Cape Town coordinates the after-care of children with HIV, AIDS and TB discharged from the children’s hospital. The family and children support program is going from strength to strength thanks to a donation from “Ein Herz fuer Kinder” from Germany. On the level of information for donors and sponsors a new HOPE Cape Town flyer is in development and with it comes a new design for the webpage, reflecting all the actual work done by HOPE Cape Town. Watch the space 🙂

Filed under: HOPE Cape Town Association, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Trust, Reflection, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

05/12/2014 • 9:55 am Comments Off on The Day after the Ball of HOPE

The Day after the Ball of HOPE

Only people who are also in the business of preparing a gala event know what it means to sit there a day after the event and reflecting on it. All the adrenalin is gone and funny enough one feels drained and somehow empty inside. It seems that all energy is gone but still one cannot find real rest. “Are you happy with the Ball” I was asked several times the next morning, meeting people who slept over at the Westin Hotel and enjoyed their breakfast the very next morning. It sounded to me like a strange question: Yes, of course I was happy that it went without major trouble – all obstacles naturally coming up during such an event were dealt with as soon as Anja and I as the organizers were aware off. And yes, the entertainment program was great and the dance band got the people going – wonderful to see. But it takes at least a couple of days to recover and appreciate all what was happening that very eve. And to digest that for the first time in history, raffle tickets were sold out before all could get a chance to buy some. So amazing…
I am deeply grateful for all of you who joined this annual event on Saturday eve – I hope everybody had a wonderful time, enjoyed our Brooklyn Holy Cross Primary School Senior choir and Chelsea, our 9-year-old singer from Switzerland with her powerful voice , Katlego who did a marvelous job as an MC. And I also hope that you took home the knowledge how you fun that very eve meant hope and life and a future for so many less fortunate in the townships of Cape Town, being troubled by HIV, AIDS and TB and so many associated diseases. All and everybody present made a difference and had a personal impact on the life of somebody whom they never will learn to know in person. What a wonderful and powerful connection…

Filed under: General, HOPE Cape Town Association, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Trust, Networking, Reflection, SA-German Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

04/29/2014 • 1:38 pm Comments Off on In between all the public holidays..

In between all the public holidays..

It is difficult for Non-South Africans to understand the time between end April and May, where several public holidays as well as this year the national elections create somehow a very disruptive life for people living in this country. Long weekends tempt people to go away for a couple of days and it is difficult to get appointments or keep them intact.
For HOPE Cape Town this time is also a time before the Ball of HOPE. Excitement about this event being sold out is paired with the anxiety that everything is going alright and will work according to plan. Also on the hospital side there are movements. The Ithemba Ward has finally moved to the 10th floor and the question now is what happens to the HOPE Cape Town office. Do we move with to the 10th floor or do we look for alternative space as we are asked to provide services for all wards? Whoever works in public entities knows how painstaking such a process is and Tygerberg Academic Health Complex is unfortunately not the exemption of the rule. So Sonja and her office is floating a little bit in between decision-making processes and all the public holidays hindering those processes coming to a conclusion. On the positive side is to report that HOPE Cape Town has successfully employed to new members to the HOPE Cape Town family and that fundraising and marketing now will be done much more professionally and up to the point. The so-called “back – office” is now complete and starts to get into gear. This is good news before the AGM of the HOPE Cape Town Trust which will also decide on streamlining certain aspects of the work of HOPE Cape Town as an entity. 13 years into the course, the organization is somehow entering a new stage of its life without losing the heart and the core of its mission and vision. As somebody being the initiator of the project I am very proud to see how HOPE Cape Town is growing and how my role is also changing. I always believed that for a founder there is a time to give up some responsibilities so that an organization not dies when the founder is dying. I guess we are on the right way, broaden the objectives and filling the gaps the government is not able to fill in 2014 – HOPE Cape Town has changed over the years and was always able to adapt to developments within South Africa. I am looking forward to all the new steps taken in the next 12 months and I am proud to be part of a journey full of life and dedication serving those who need it most being infected or affected by HIV or AIDS or TB.

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

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