03/31/2010 • 10:29 pm Comments Off on 31.03.2010 Safe house
HOPE Cape Town was the first project to receive the “safehouse” placket from the “Romantik Hotel Group” and “be your own hero e.V.
Filed under: General, HIV and AIDS, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Networking, Society and living environment, be your own hero, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, romantic hotel group, safe hous
03/25/2010 • 10:34 pm Comments Off on 25.03.2010 Safe House and Rome is calling
Tomorrow, a representative of the “Romantic Hotel Group” is visiting HOPE Cape Town together with Joachim Franz and Sandra Wukowich. HOPE Cape Town will be presented with the first sign marking us as a recipient of the Safe House Fund of “be your own hero” e.V. I will go out and show the working of a primary health care facility, we will visit the family of one of our patience and lastly also seeing Tygerberg Children’s Hospital. It is good to have such networking and for the weekend, Joachim, Sandra and myself will stick our heads together for some exciting times in 2011.
Also on the POZ side, the initiative for HIV positive priests and religious there is some new development. Fr Wim and myself are granted a meeting in Rome with the secretary of the Papal Council for Justice and Peace. This is the second important meeting for Rome during our two days visit and I am looking forward to it. Things are developing in the right direction and it feels good to be part of this development.
Filed under: HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Networking, Church Matters, HIV positive priests and religious, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, justice, justice and peace, peace, Rome
03/24/2010 • 4:36 pm Comments Off on 24.03.2010 Ball of HOPE – 22.05.2010
This morning meeting with Anja from the Southern African – German Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Adolf from the German Speaking Catholic Community as well as Petra from the Mediterranean Villa to discuss where we are with the Ball of HOPE 2010.
We discussed program, technicalities and the usual nitti-gritties connected with such an event. Since years the Ball of HOPE is one of the major social events in Cape Town with dinner, life music, dance, raffle and first class entertainment. Up to 300 guests can enjoy an evening of fun and laughter, but also of reflection on those less fortune than themselves. Having fun and doing good is the motto. So if you are living in and around Cape Town don’t forget to book to avoid disappointment. And if you leave abroad, there is always a reason to visit Cape Town as our mainly German visitors every year show.
The Ball of HOPE is a fundraiser, but the first objective is to remind people of their fellow neighbors, mainly poor and under siege with the HIV pandemic. For me personally it is an evening where we can be a like a bridge bringing people together who otherwise would never meet. Two worlds are meeting, living so much apart but at the end of the evening people go home with joy in their hearts and others have future and hope because of this event. We are blessed to do this now already for the 13th time in a row. Thanks to the fantastic people in Cape Town and where ever they come from to join us on this eve.
This years entertainment program will include the duet of a vocal star and a promising newcomer – performing together with the Brooklyn Holy Cross Primary School choir – a feast for those who will have the privilege to listen to them.
Welcome to the Ball of HOPE – tickets or more info via the SA – German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Cape Town or Petra @ the Mediterranean Villa 021 423 21 88. Or send me an email, also good 🙂 See you there.
Filed under: HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Networking, ball of hope, chamber of commerce, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust
03/23/2010 • 6:54 pm 1
For the second time in one week I was asked about the link between HOPE Cape Town and my blog. Some people feel that it is not right to have a permanent link between the official HOPE Cape Town website and my blog. Of course if the majority of management is the same opinion I will make sure that the permanent link will disappear. I always believed that no project is self-sufficient and above the daily realities and that all work takes place in the midst of daily life and all what makes headlines around the world. The global village is meanwhile very much connected. Also linking increases the traffic and brings people to visit the virtual HOPE Cape Town via the blog page. So I personally like to see the full picture and I myself love to know more around subjects or projects I am interested in. At the end the development of a project always depends also on the living experience of people guiding and driving the project.
But I have to accept that others find this unacceptable or even disturbing to link personal experience and the professional stand in the world-wide web.
Reflecting on that I also contemplate sometimes the role I play for HOPE Cape Town. Being in parts of Germany “the face” of the organization is as much pleasure as it can be burden. But only when you personalize and let people identify a project with a face and a person, then trust can be build up which leads to support of all kinds. I sometimes have the impression that being a figure-head can be overwhelming for others who would like to promote more the work and cut down on personal limelight. I would be glad if it would be that easy – I think the world does not tick like it. What interesting studies could be done on such a subject.
Well, I definitely will remove the link on the HOPE Cape Town website if need be, even if I am convinced that this cuts off a lot of traffic HOPE Cape Town needs – and the obviously also the other way around the blog receives visitors from the HOPE Cape Town website. A dynamic of web traffic as it should be the case when linking websites. But only, if people want it… For me life goes on with or without linking and I will continue the blog as a way of communicating with many people hopefully continuing to show interest in the work of HOPE Cape Town.
Filed under: Networking, Reflection, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, linking, WWW
03/20/2010 • 9:33 am Comments Off on 20.03.2010 What has child abuse…
… to do with a blog on HIV and AIDS? This is one of the question I was asked yesterday reflecting on the internet presence of HOPE Cape Town. Should such a blog be linked to a NGO website? I am not sure what you think, but I guess, my answer is a clear yes:
First of all, all work is done in a certain environment, and even HOPE Cape Town is no purely Catholic entity, we are founded in the Catholic and Christian spirit and the German-speaking Catholic Community Cape Town takes pride in this fact and supports the project in many ways. I am as the co-founder and chair for the first 6 years – I am a Catholic priest and of course my environment contributes to my way of working with HOPE Cape Town.
And there is more to it – when I have groups from overseas, they are all shocked by the high number of rapes happening here in South Africa – especially with under aged and within families. If you look into the child abuse case scenario of Germany, you will find that 95% of child abuse takes place within a family and closed friends environment. What does this tell us?
I think, the complexity of life and living it deserves a view beyond the tea-cup I am having in front of me – we have to see major trends, we have to look into the working environment and we have to consider factors which may put to rest a lot of prejudices. Only if we look at the full picture we can judge a situation.
That is the reason why I once in a while strain into other territories – commenting on development besides HIV and AIDS.
A last example: I commented on the economic crisis. Why? Because the economic crises, as also the war in Afghanistan in Iraq by the way, contributes to the fact, that money especially from the USA for research and development of new drugs combatting the pandemic is fading. Once again, we have to look onto the greater picture, otherwise we are losing it. Nobody is living on an island anymore, and what happens in USA or Thailand or Israel or Iraq has an impact on our work here in South Africa. Like it or not – it is a matter of fact.
Filed under: General, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Networking, Reflection, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, Catholic, child abuse, christian spirit, Church Matters, economic crisis, Germany, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust
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