03/10/2013 • 12:58 pm Comments Off on Conclave talk on SABC 3
copyright: expresso show – you tube channel
Filed under: Catholic Church, General, Religion and Ethics, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, african pope, ballot, black smoke, cardinal, Catholic, catholic church, church, conclave, election, entertainment, expresso, new pope, pope, priest, Roman-Catholic, Rome, sabc, stefan hippler, tube channel, TV, vatican, video, white smoke
03/06/2013 • 8:47 pm Comments Off on Job opening for a medical doctor @ HOPE Cape Town
Job description – HOPE Cape Town Doctor
The role of the HOPE Cape Town Doctor is to provide clinical service in pediatric HIV clinics, support relevant community projects and provide expertise in the training of health care workers and medical elective students. The clinical service will take 50 % and the training duties, the research, project support and general duties will take the other 50 % of task and duties. That means in detail:
Clinical duties
o Provide comprehensive clinical care to HIV infected children and adults at Tygerberg Hospital and peripheral clinics and communities
o Maintain good relationships with medical staff at Tygerberg Hospital and peripheral clinics in the communities by attending relevant meetings and ward rounds
o Responsible for the organization of the yearly Christmas party and other events for HIV positive children in the communities
Training duties
o Train and support HOPE Cape Town Community Health Workers (HCHW’s)
o With special focus on newly employed HCHW’s during their probation period
o Develop and teach an user friendly course for HCHW based on UNISA-text book “HIV care and counselling course”
o Develop HCHW’s annual training programme
o Responsible for the annual training content for the HCHW’s
o Develop training material and modules
o develop training material and modules of good quality for HWSETA accreditation
o eLearning
o responsible for teaching and training of all e Learning material
o supervision of the e Learning project and keep the contacts with all relevant role players
o Provide external training and awareness as required
o Train and supervise Medical Elective Students of the HOPE – KID CRU Elective
Applied research duties
o Identify research opportunities based on demonstrated needs
o Plan and implement formal and informal research
Project support and general duties
o Liaison and networking with all relevant role players pertaining to all other relevant duties
o Provide medical information and expertise to non-medical personnel
o Assist in planning, initiating and executing HOPE Cape Town projects and programmes
o Provide consultative services for external collaborations
o Do media interviews and articles as required
o Attend training and meetings, like ward rounds and medical meeting, staff and other meetings
Filed under: General, HIV and AIDS, HIV Prevention, HIV Treatment, HOPE Cape Town Association, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Trust, Medical and Research, Networking, SA-German Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Uncategorized, capetown, eLearning, hiv, HOPE Cape Town Association, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Trust, job, Job opening, job vacancy, medical doctor, medicine, profession, research, south africa, Tygerberg Hospital, western cape
03/01/2013 • 5:42 pm Comments Off on Book your place @ the prestigious Ball of HOPE in Cape Town
Be part of the Annual Ball of HOPE, this year on Saturday, the 4th of May 2013 at the Westin Hotel in Cape Town. Organized by the Southern – African – German Chamber of Commerce and Industry and HOPE Cape Town it will bring together great people, good food, fantastic entertainment, great raffle prices and the feeling to have done good for people living with HIV and AIDS in the Western Cape. Be an Ambassador of HOPE for one eve.
Please download the invite and the booking form here:
Ball of Hope BOOKING FORM 2013
We welcome you to our Annual Ball of HOPE 🙂
Filed under: Catholic Church, General, HIV and AIDS, HOPE Cape Town Association, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Networking, SA-German Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, Aids, Anja Tambusso-Ferraz, ball, ball of hope, Black Tie, cape town, chamber of commerce, entertainment, Gala, hiv, HOPE Cape Town Association, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Trust, Southern African- German Chamber of Commerce, stefan hippler, western cape, Westin Hotel
02/27/2013 • 5:46 pm Comments Off on Farewell to Pope Benedict XVI
“Why did you write not about the resignation of the pope?” I was asked frequently – you have a blog as a priest, they argue and it must be of concern for me what happens in the church on the top-level of hierarchy.
Well, the are right, it is of my interest and I follow the events unfolding very closely. But there is so much written about the pope and the resignation and the consequences for the church – and most of them are clever people; so what should I as a simple priest say to an event commented from almost all angels of life.
Well, for those who are interested:
I was not surprised, Benedict XVI had always his own mindset and he remained the theologian and professor and in my humble view never took over by heart all the demands and challenges of being a pope. This was and is not his world. Studies and books and deep thinking is different from ruling, being almost seen above human beings, having to deal with politics, human failures, ordinary administration work and demands from all sides.
I guess this is anyhow for an elderly person too much to carry in our days. So for me, he made the right decision to step down after realizing that he has not the energy to deal with it all. I take my hat off that he tried, but my feelings are somehow ambivalent. Can I take on a duty I know I cannot fill out completely? Yes, people grow with their “job description” and this applies also to a pope in a certain way. But I cannot judge it, that is between him and the Lord.
I was not surprised but I believe his eight years changed the papacy for ever. His interviews about the use of condoms, his “Regensburger” comments on Islam, his dealing with the Pius X Society and the Latin mass, his resignation – it all changes history and if you hear some comments of bishops and cardinals after the announcement – there are suddenly some nuances in comments which are very surprising to me. It somehow seems that the church has woken up in the 21st century realizing that the train of time has gone with such a speed that it is time to catch up and face the challenges of this new era. But on the other side one sees people in the hierarchy still believing that the train of time has to be reversed and send back to its origin. The church is somehow split by now – not only between those who are called “conservative” and “progressive” but also those who think “European” and those thinking “global”.
Disappointment on his stance regarding Africa and HIV / AIDS – yes, I have to admit there is a lot of it. But on the other hand: Did we really expect him to change the teaching which seems to be for him one of the pillars to fight relativism, his beloved subject. And anyhow: change does come from the Holy Spirit who is part of the church and the world and who is not confined to any single person. Change comes through each and every single calling in this world and we should never expect all answers from the person occupying the throne of Peter. The community of the bishops and within this as primus inter pares the Bishop of Rome and the sensus fidei – there the future of the church is lying and the hope for a recovery from the crisis we are in.
I am sure he tried his very best – and I am also sure he is humble enough to know that there have been made mistakes. Contra all assurance from him I believe that he was a lonely man in the Vatican, trusting only a handful of people and therefore sometimes lacking the possibilities to see all sides of a subject he was considering and deciding. But that might be the case for all high-profile people giving up their freedom for a calling, a duty or even for more power.
The only thing I put a real question mark is the ordination of his secretary to become a bishop. He did that in the knowledge that he steps down and somehow it feels wrong to me. In a world, where favoritism and nepotism regarding those supporting one seems to be normal in politics and economics there shouldn’t be a taste of it in the Vatican. For me anyhow a bishop is for the people and I cannot see why there are so many bishops in Rome in administration. Cardinal is a title and not necessarily attached to someone being e a bishop. So for me, it empties generally the meaning of the word “bishop” somehow.
So what do I make of the time of Benedict XVI – it was on one hand a tough time for somebody believing that changes are necessary into the future and not into the past – but on the other hand God is writing nicely even on uneven lines – so I hope and pray that the next pope is fit mentally and physically to face the challenges of the time and to convert the papacy and the administration in a way fit for the next centuries to come, proclaiming the value of a human being and all creation and that all and everybody is loved unconditional by God. For Benedict XVI I hope for a peaceful life as he wishes to live now and enough time for his studies and music and whatever he likes to do in his retirement.
Filed under: Catholic Church, Religion and Ethics, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, Africa, Aids, benedict, bishop, cardinal, catholic church, current-events, global thinking, holy spirit, Latin Mass, pius brothers, Pius Society, politics, pope, pope benedict XVI, regensburg, religion, Rome, vatican
02/06/2013 • 3:07 pm Comments Off on When wild garlic makes you pregnant
Pius Fasinu(left), Prof Bernd Rosenkranz (right) and those involved in the research
HOPE Cape Town is not only working on grass root level but also involved in academic research; a holistic view of HIV and AIDS has been at the core of the work of HOPE Cape Town since the beginning. With the permission of the author we publish this article explaining an exciting research on muti – the medicine of sangomas in South Africa through the PhD student Pius Fasinu:
When wild garlic makes you pregnant
Pius Fasinu
People who use traditional remedies together with conventional medicines may want to rethink their strategy, because the combination of these substances might be doing them more harm than good.
Researchers have found that certain African medicinal herbs, including wild garlic and the African potato, could interfere with how conventional drugs work in the body. The herbs included in the study are traditionally used to treat diseases such as fever, pain, diarrhea, asthma, cold, cough, infections, hypertension, depression and ailments related to HIV and Aids.
Preliminary results of the study being conducted by the Division of Pharmacology at Stellenbosch University (SU) have shown that the herbs can quicken or delay the elimination of conventional drugs from the body. “This adds to the risk of treatment failure or toxicity,” says Pius Fasinu, a doctoral student in pharmacology.
“Patients should tell their doctors if they are taking any herbal medicine, or at best avoid taking the herbs and conventional medicines together,” is Fasinu’s advice based on the findings.
Traditional medicine and especially the use of medicinal herbs are popular in South Africa. “While the use of medicinal herbs predates the emergence of HIV and Aids, a number of indigenous herbs are widely consumed as immune boosters and to manage the symptoms of this disease,” explains Fasinu, who is completing his research under supervision of Prof. Bernd Rosenkranz and Prof. Patrick Bouic of the SU Division of Pharmacology in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.
The high disease burden and the strong attachment of traditional medical practices to culture and tradition have prompted various African governments to start integrating traditional medicine into the mainstream healthcare.
”Nearly two in every three people who live with HIV and Aids combine their antiretroviral drugs with medicinal herbal products,” adds the doctoral student who is doing an in vitro assessment of selected traditional medications used in South Africa and their pharmacokinetic drug interaction potential.
For purposes of his study, Fasinu consulted traditional healers and used available literature to identify and source the most popular herbal remedies used by people who also rely on conventional healthcare.
African potato (Hypoxis hemerocallidea), fat hen (Chenopodium album), devil’s thorn (Emex australis), cancer bush (Sutherlandia frutescens), sweet thorn (Acacia karroo) and wild garlic (Tulbaghia violacea) were included in the study, and were shown to interfere with the functioning of conventional drugs in the body.
The herbs were not tested for their therapeutic benefit or for their potential toxicity when they are taken on their own. Rather, herb extracts were tested to see what their effect was on the enzymes in the body that are responsible for metabolising and eliminating conventional drugs.
Fasinu’s tests showed that the herbal extracts inhibited the majority of these enzymes. “This suggests that conventional drugs taken with some traditional herbs may accumulate in the body because of the enzyme inhibition,” Fasinu believes. “This leads to toxicity.”
In some cases, herbal derivatives also had the opposite effect, in that it induced the production of more enzymes and therefore sped up the metabolism of the drugs. This could lead to the failure of conventional drug treatment because it is cleared from the body far too quickly to be beneficial. Samples from human livers that contain the active enzymes were used to assess the impact of herbal extracts on drug clearance. It provided the closest scenario to herb-drug combination in humans.
“Hypertension may persist if herbs are taken together with anti-hypertensive drugs, and pregnancy may occur when they are taken with contraceptive pills,” he cites some of the inadvertent consequences of using traditional and conventional treatments together.
“Despite the popularity among South Africans to use herbs and conventional medicine side by side, there is little information available on how safe this practice is,” a concerned Fasinu says. “Considering the potential consequences, it is best to exercise caution.”
“Pius Fasinu, with the support of HOPE Cape Town”, phasynou@gmail.com
Filed under: HIV Treatment, HOPE Cape Town Association, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Trust, Medical and Research, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, Aids, Alternative, conventional medicines, health, Herb, herbal medication, herbal remidy, Herbalism, HOPE Cape Town Association, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Trust, indigenous herbs, medicine, muti, Pharmacology, PhD Student, Pius Fasinu, Prof Bernd Rosenkranz, research, sangoma, science, south africa, Stellenbosch University, tradtitional healer
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