God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

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, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

12/18/2014 • 8:00 am Comments Off on Good to know

Good to know

As always in between some articles I found worth reading and sharing with my readers:

We hear so often that the fight against HIV has been already won, especially in Europe: read on that the article “European HIV response “falling behind” as Eastern European epidemic grows”

Truvada as PreP – especially in the gay scene a hot topic – read the approach of J. Bryan Lowder in “Twenty-one attempts at swallowing Truvada”

Money for HIV related NGO’s is getting more difficult to raise – some thoughts about the “HIV Dollars drop” …

We all know about HIV – well, that seems not to be true especially for European countries, read about the British public and the knowledge of people under 30 years of age being “in the dark”

“Poor weight gain and mortality” in resource limited environments – especially for Africa a topic to consider seriously.

Most HIV infections are past on by “younger gay men unaware of their infection” , are not on treatment and have an ongoing relationship – interesting read

Filed under: HIV and AIDS, HIV Prevention, HIV Treatment, HOPE Cape Town Association, Medical and Research, Networking, Politics and Society, Reflection, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

11/24/2014 • 3:29 pm Comments Off on End of the year frenzy

End of the year frenzy

It is definitely a Capetonian experience – the almost unstoppable frenzy when it comes to the last 4 weeks of the year before holiday mood kicks in and Cape Town is more or less a holiday resort for the next 4 weeks.  Also HOPE Cape Town can’t avoid to be taken away by this storm of finishing off what is left to do for the year. Not only the last visitors for the year, but also a mountain of meeting requests, not to talk about the invites for Christmas Parties, are making one feel like on the hunt – not exactly sure one is the hunter or the hunted one. Looking at it from far, it seems to me that we are the hunted hunter in these times.
HOPE Cape Town has come very far in this year and has laid ground work in local fundraising and marketing to be followed up in 2015. Travels to Australia, the USA and Europe have fostered new relationships, deepened the one already existing and have shown the vast net of supporters around the world. With new structures coming into effect with the new financial year 2015/16 the HOPE Cape Town Association will have more time to concentrate on the work on the ground and the HOPE Cape Town Trust will take over the management of funds and the marketing efforts. Two entities doing what they do best and the result will be excellent teamwork and more benefits for those in need of our support and help.

Even if it is early, I am simply most grateful for all what I have been able to do this year, I am grateful for all the personal encounters, the goodwill, the efforts, the dedication of staff, co-workers, colleagues and supporters. It never stops to amazes me remembering very vivid the humble beginnings in 2001. Being able to work in the long run in the field that I love and cherish adds to this gratefulness. This feeling makes it also easier to survive the next four weeks of mild madness before the Cape Coma sets in and we are all able to celebrate Christmas and the summer holidays in style – decent but with lots of joy.

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

11/14/2014 • 7:51 am Comments Off on Synod on Family: Signs of deep divide or healthy discussion?

Synod on Family: Signs of deep divide or healthy discussion?

It was amazing to see the discussion before, during and after the first part of the Synod on Family: those discussions, interviews, reporting back, misunderstandings when being interviewed and it seems a somehow brutal gloves off discussion is going on for the time being. Reading conservative blogs or so-called Catholic news websites like the German “kath.net” every bit of news is bend up to a point of ideology and bits of events are highlighted and others completely overlooked just to make a point.
The removal of Cardinal Burke from a high-ranking position has fired up the discussion as has the remarks of Cardinal Kasper that one cannot discuss certain topics with African bishops. All this shows that the unity of bishops and the church has been enforced by a structure or hierarchy based on fear and choosing only candidates who would normally never speak up but defend even the not possible to defend as part of the deal. Those times are hopefully gone and the God’s good spirit seems to get more and more room to conquer the hearts and minds of those leading the church. And giving the spirit more room is certainly healthy for a church claiming to be guided by exactly this spirit.
I personally think it is good to see the diversity of thoughts within our church and if it is done right and with respect, a robust and healthy debate can only further our cause as it has done during the Second Vatican Council. The only difference is that in our times, the debates are public and can be followed by millions with each and everybody able to voice his or her own opinion while at the time of the council, it was fought out behind close doors and only the results were published.What is scary is the bitterness of certain so-called conservative circles even talking about a “false” pope or yesterday I even read about a schismatic pope. Here, ideology has taken over religion and a debate is not even possible any more.

Working in the field of HIV and AIDS, seeing the crisis of family and the changes happening in form and perceptions, there has to be a debate if we want to remain relevant in our days. Nobody I see wants to abolish the institution of family, but as always in life, there are many shades of grey in the realities of family life and we have to see the good and beautiful as God is exactly doing the same: Where there is love, commitment, dedication there he is present. And there are many shades of grey in the reality of sexuality and  again let’s see the good and the beautiful as God is exactly doing the same: Where there is love, commitment and dedication, there he is present. Life is getting so complicated, let’s point out all what contributes to life and the diversity of life – God’s plan is certainly not uniformity but a colorful mosaic where every different piece counts to make the whole picture beautiful.

Filed under: Catholic Church, Networking, Reflection, Religion and Ethics, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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