God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

02/22/2010 • 11:43 pm Comments Off on 22.02.2010 a new week

22.02.2010 a new week

A new week – and new challenges are ahead. The day starts with a meeting with one of the trustees of the HOPE Cape Town Trust and it is all about CSR and CSI and the involvement of HOPE Cape Town in tenders. Very complicated for a simple priest, but somehow also exciting how in South Africa commerce and social responsibility are going hand in hand.

Thereafter senior staff meeting at Tygerberg Hospital. It is amazing how much is needed to be discusses at such a meeting -28 employees means a lot of challenges and organising such an organisation means lots of fine tuning and consideration.

Afterwards meeting with a new diplomat from the German Embassy in Pretoria in preparation of the visit of an official delegation from Germany in March. Good to know that politicians have interest to hear about our struggles and small victories, about the situation in the health sector of South Africa.

In the evening then a meeting with two friends, both actors and it is good to talk about literature, art and culture and all the also important things in life, which is much more than work, eat and sleep.

A full day – the gaps filled with the usual attempt to empty the email box (without success) – and as I have a final look into my diary it seems there will be no dull moment. Good so.

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

02/20/2010 • 10:17 pm Comments Off on 20.02.2010 Time is flying

20.02.2010 Time is flying

Saturday again – time is indeed flying and who says, that time is passing quicker when one gets older: that is correct. The time, I have felt in the earlier time for days, are now easy covering a months.
Yesterday I had my first meeting with the new Archbishop of Cape Town and we discussed some matters, amongst others the initiative of pastoral work for HIV positive priests and religious in our church. I hope to see in the next three weeks the chairperson of the Southern African Bishops Conference on this issue to move forward and to be able to report back in May, when I am in Rome.
HOPE Cape Town needed this week also some attention, sometimes there are times of multiple decision-making processes at the same time which binds all energies and needs lots of focus. At the same time I had to finalize the first planing of my next travels, which will bring me to Gauteng end of the month for two weeks, then in May to Italy and Germany and in July to Austria and Germany. In between a short break in SE Asia.

And when I thought that I don’t have to work during Holy week and on Easter – since Thursday I know that I will be busy and helping out on all those holy days. That will be the first time to celebrate all these mysteries in English; well as long as I don’t have to sing in English, I will survive. 🙂

It was a busy week and today I digged me into reading the white paper of renewal energy of the Western Cape to get a grip also on this topic. All the acronyms are a bit strange to me, but the material itself is not that difficult as I thought. Tomorrow then 2 church services which I will now prepare.

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

02/18/2010 • 10:43 pm 1

18.02.2010 office work and good news

Today is mainly an office work day – so many things are waiting to be finalised. In the morning still sitting together with a colleague of mine and exchanging ideas. In the afternoon reading some emails I discover that the South-African Government has agreed to change their guidelines for HIV treatment and that now the 350 mark of the CD4 count is significant for the begin of the treatment. This is indeed good news . I have my little doubts whether the implementation will be smoothly and were the money is coming for all those now eligible for treatment, but we will see.

Another good news is the insight, the local minister of health of the Western Cape gave in saying that there is a good understanding between the Western Cape and the national government in health issues. No jealousy or there like. Also good to hear and my prayers are, that this will last longer than the world cup 2010 is in town.
All steps in the right direction and if correct implemented, we will see many South African being able to contribute to the countries well-being instead of dying to early.

Filed under: HIV and AIDS, Politics and Society, Reflection, , , , , , ,

02/17/2010 • 10:56 pm Comments Off on 17.02.2010 Ash Wednesday

17.02.2010 Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday and a remarkable full church service in the morning with the pupils of the Holy Cross Primary School in Brooklyn and parishioners. The students had prepared papers were they put on all their misbehavior which were burned during the service. We transformed – so to speak – the guilt into ashes and used it to receive the sign of the cross. Ash Wednesday as the starting day of Lent – a time of reflection, because God has called us to do better as we are in the moment. We are called to listen to our vocation again, and bringing our life in order.

It is not about the chocolate or the 4 kg we like to lose over the 6 weeks – fasting in lent has not its purpose in itself but can only be a symbol for conscience to be developed about how life is treating us and we are treating life. It’s not about ” us sinners”, but us human beings, who need once in a while to clean our compass of life to find the right direction again. In this sense is lent a very important time.

I wish all and everybody a great time of lent and so many new discoveries how life can be even more worth living to the fullest.

Filed under: Reflection, Uncategorized, , , , ,

02/16/2010 • 9:56 pm Comments Off on 16.02.2010 POZ and CAN

16.02.2010 POZ and CAN

A whole series of meetings today, amongst others one with our working group looking into the pastoral care for HIV positive priests and religious. We discuss the way forward and how important it is to back up our pastoral efforts with a proper theological and psychological consideration. Obviously it is compassion driving us, but is this enough? When we want to engage bishops and convince them to support us, it would be good for us to have done our homework. Obviously we also have to look at the scale of what we can do and how we approach it. A very constructive meeting and surely a big step forward.

Afterwards meeting with the Catholic Aids Network in Welcome Estate. We are still waiting for our constitution as requested by the National Catholic Aids office and we discussed in length the way forward. The topic HIV and AIDS has indeed changed in the last years and for many church groups and initiatives, it is one aspect of their work amongst others. This is different from when CAN started, where the support groups were partly marginalised and worked very isolated, thus needing much more networking and moral support. We also aim to have a service around World Aids Day, not only as a memorial service for those, who have died already, but also as a sign of encouragement for those, who are still working in this field. And I am convinced we have not reached yet the peak – the PEFPAR funding is going to get less, and we still have to catch up for quite some wasted years here in South Africa; the adherence will be a topic and a problem in the years to come. Whoever thinks, that HIV and AIDS is dealt with – I think the opposite. We still have a way to go – and if we not take care of this way, we will have to pay a costly price.  Between political declarations of intent and reality is here in South Africa still a big gap ( I guess not only in South Africa)…

HOPE Cape Town, Catholic AIDS Network, the poz initiative for HIV positive priests and clergy  and all the other local initiatives will be needed still for a long time…

Filed under: HIV and AIDS, HIV Prevention, HIV Treatment, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Medical and Research, Politics and Society, , , , , , , , , , , ,

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