God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

11/28/2009 • 2:34 am Comments Off on 28.11.2009 Malicious journalism and great AGM’s

28.11.2009 Malicious journalism and great AGM’s

Giving interviews is always tricky in our days – and when the topic is HIV and AIDS and the newspaper is a Catholic one, even more. I had in Munich a lengthy interview with the LinzerKirchenzeitung – and the interviewer really did a great job. Obviously the “condom question” was prominent – again, but I felt that I really tried to be as detailed and balanced as possible. Those who are able to read German can read the excerpt under http://www.dioezese-linz.or.at/redaktion/index.php?action_new=Lesen&Article_ID=51939

This morning I find an article about the article on “kath.net” under the headline: “Kondom Theologie in der Linzer Kirchenzeitung” (Condom theology in the Catholic newspaper of Linz – in German language). Reading this vile concoction I suddenly realise that I could have put it in the interview in any form – it would not matter at all. Here are people writing, who simply want to slate someone, in this case me. Anything goes, as long as at the end, the person concerned is put down. I feel ashamed that this is labeled “Catholic news. I would expect more from real Catholic news…  Love, respect and fairness are important virtues of Catholic journalism. This morning I find an article about the article on “kath.net” under the headline:

This afternoon then our two General Annual Meetings, first for the HOPE Cape Town Association and then for the HOPE Cape Town Trust. I must admit that afterwards I am really a happy man. Both AGM’s have been inspiring, a good motivation for the coming year. Dedicated trustees who want to get involved in the fundraising efforts and so adding to the work of HOPE Cape Town. One can sense that there is a good spirit amongst all of us and that the goodwill will go the extra mile to achieve the goals of HOPE Cape Town for the next years. It is indeed a pleasure to be part of such a project. And listening to the chairwoman’s report of the association, it amazes me anew, how diverse our work is. Running with it daily one sometimes tends to forget and miss the sheer bandwidth of our work.

I also want to use this blog to thank all of management, the employees, the trustees, the members of the advisory board, the sponsors and donors and friends of HOPE Cape Town for their dedication and for most I can say, for their friendship. My fellow management members I want to say a special thank you for the unique ways, we work together. It is not always easy with all the unique characters we have :-), but after 8 years one can sense that feel of belonging and appraisal for each other. For me, HOPE Cape Town is part of my family.

Filed under: HIV and AIDS, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Networking, Reflection, Society and living environment, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

11/25/2009 • 11:41 pm Comments Off on 25.11.2009 on the road again…

25.11.2009 on the road again…

My job description requires in the moment a lot of travelling. Going to meetings  means passing the N1 and N2 again and again and being reminded all the time that we are close to the soccer world cup 2010. No, to be reminded there is no big advertising necessary, just experiencing the stop and go between all the road repairs and reconstructions gives you plenty of time to reflect on the coming event. We South Africans are happy about the repairs, especially not knowing whether this will happen again in the next twenty years ahead of us. So all is welcome what will make our lives easier after 2010…

Having seen the traffic tripling the last 10 years without any new lane of road has taught us that there is a limit to more cars on the same roads, going from the airport to town in the mornings have become a nightmare scenario.

It is also nice to see the squatter camps disappearing from the motorway, so that the visitors of 2010 do not see too much poverty along the way to town. Even if it is partly because of dressing up the country for the world cup, it without doubt helps people to better their living situation.

So, while driving there is much to reflect and to consider and I specially admire those cutting grass and hedges along the motorway – sometimes only protected through a lonely red flag waving person in the curve without doubt heaven must hold its hand here to protect the workers who sometimes seemingly not notice the danger they are in…

And there have been the meetings today too besides all the reflections: one to one meetings, but also a trustee meeting of IAM, an organisation looking into the ministries for GLBTI communities within the churches. Hosting good old friends this evening at home was a great chance just to catch up and to indulge in the good old times… yeah, even priests do have some… 🙂

Filed under: Networking, Reflection, , , , , ,

11/24/2009 • 7:56 pm Comments Off on 24.11.2009 Nabucco…

24.11.2009 Nabucco…

I just listen to Nabucco – chorus of hebrew slaves.. and when music is indeed an indication for mood it might be the case: After being the whole day on the run coming home knowing that still one has not even touched the office work lying and waiting – one feels like one of those slaves yearning for a bit of relaxation and freedom. Meetings and a talk to our HOPE Cape Town staff was part of the days work. We published for the first time an internal employee’s handbook. After being so long in business as an NGO and having 27 employees it is time to bring together all the legal stuff and ethics for a work in this field. What are the do’s and don’ts? What means to be honest? How do I handle situation of danger? What means fraud? How do I handle donations?

There are so many challenges an NGO like HOPE Cape Town is facing up the question how we go about working place problems, what are the right channel of communications and so on and so on. HOPE Cape Town is meanwhile also a place for training. People are trained here, work for some years but then also moving on. So the “family structure” of HOPE Cape Town is also changing eventually with new people coming in. This makes it more important than ever to have a booklet to give guidance .
But todays talk was not only about the rules and regulations – we also talked about being proud to be part of such an organisation. What does it mean to identify with the organisation you are working for? How do we present ourselves to show our bond with the goals and achievements of HOPE Cape Town. Important topics and for me the possibility to touch base again with most HOPE Community Health Workers at the same time. I promised to get to all working places in the 17 township communities in the first half-year of 2010 again to visit them all in their daily environment. And I must say  I am looking forward to it. I guess, I learn a lot in doing so.

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

11/23/2009 • 10:31 pm 1

23.11.2009 Berlin calling

A group of mainly doctors from Berlin visited HOPE Cape Town today and it was very good to engage with them in a discussion about the situation here in South Africa and what it means to them in Germany. I hope once again to make it very clear that the HIV problem is not a charity matter but that it is in the interest of the people living in Europe  to avoid the building up of a resistant HIV strain here in South Africa or in East Europe.
The global village does not allow anymore for a kind of separation: with poverty it still is possible, with a virus it is getting more and more difficult and the panic with which people react to certain flu’s in the last year, be it the bird flu or now the swine flu could give an indication what would happen if a real resistant heterosexual HI virus would hit Europe and the rest of the so-called first world. Not sure about the “first” then anymore. And looking at TB with the multi- and extreme resistant TB strains, we have an idea how fast it can go in this direction.

Once again it was obvious how different the situation is in Europe and in South Africa – and as with all group talks, we learned from each other. And I am sure they go back as good ambassadors for the situation here in Southern Africa while still enjoying the beauty of this fabulous continent.

A gathering with a service at a family home ended this day which also saw a lot of preparation for tomorrow and the coming days.

Filed under: HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Networking, Society and living environment, , , , , , ,

11/12/2009 • 6:39 am Comments Off on 12.11.2009 Maybe there is hope…

12.11.2009 Maybe there is hope…

I came across this article from IOL, which seems to provide proof that we move from showering away the virus getting into serious debate on the political front:

Zuma issues HIV wake-up call

By Carien du Plessis (copyright IOL 2009)

President Jacob Zuma yesterday call for national mobilisation against HIV/ Aids, saying South Africans had to come to terms with the reality that the country was “not yet winning” the battle against the pandemic. Speaking in the National Council of Provinces, he cited “chilling statistics” of the number of South Africans dying, warning there was “a real danger” that deaths would soon overtake the number of births.  In an emphatic departure from the Aids denialism that marked the era of his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki, Zuma said “extraordinary measures” were needed “if we are to stop the progress of this disease through our society”. Recent statistics from the Department of Health, Human Sciences Research Council, Medical Research Council, Statistics SA and other sources “paint a disturbing picture of the health of our nation”, Zuma said:

  • Nearly six out of 10 deaths during 2006 were of people younger than 50.

  • The number of deaths registered in 2008 jumped to 756 000, up from 573 000 the previous year, when just more than a million births were registered (1 205 111).

  • The Independent Electoral Commission had to remove 396 336 names of deceased people from the voters roll in September 2008 and August this year.

  • The average life expectancy of South African men in 2006 was 51 years, while in Senegal it was 60 and in Algeria 70.

  • Some studies suggested that more than half – 57 percent – of deaths of children under five in 2007 were due to HIV.

    “More and more people are dying young, threatening even to outnumber in proportional terms those who die in old age,” Zuma said. “At this rate, there is a real danger that the number of deaths will soon overtake the number of births.” What was “even more disturbing” was the number of young women dying “in the prime of their life, in their child-bearing years”. The situation was made worse by high levels of tuberculosis infection, with the co-infection rate between HIV and TB now “a staggering 73 percent”, with 481 584 people ill with the disease. “These are some of the chilling statistics that demonstrate the devastating impact that HIV and Aids is having on our nation,” Zuma said. He called on political leaders to lead by example and have themselves tested.

    • After this wake up call suddenly other political entities are also declaring the need of a change in politics. Where have all these intelligent people been the last years?????

    Filed under: HIV and AIDS, HIV Prevention, HIV Treatment, Networking, Politics and Society, Reflection, Society and living environment, , , ,

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