God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

01/24/2010 • 12:36 am 1

24.01.2010 Life

Life is precious – and I just finished watching the movie “Death Man Walking” – highlighting again how important and valued life is. I always think that when Christianity and our faith has one important value, then it is the uphold of the sanctity of life.  And sanctity of life means a lot:
We should make sure that babies are indeed welcome, when perceived. The value of life rests in itself – not the work, not the deeds, not the strength nor anything else really can take away this value. And we are not allowed to take lives – be it by a person or by a state.
Giving life priority is the motor for all advocacy for life – also treatment for illness belongs under that category. Being healthy is important, but we Christians maintain that life is precious even if handicapped. Because everybody is a son or a daughter of God and so my brother or my sister, loved unconditionally.

But the importance of life does not only count for human being – the way we treat animals, pets, the nature is also part of cherishing life. For me, all and everything created on earth has a soul because it is part of God’s good creation. The whole creation is steeped with God’s good spirit. The way we use some of the things – that is the concerning part I guess.

Dignity of life means also respect – the way we deal with other people is for me also part of life advocacy. If one meets a person who cherishes life, one directly feels the respect he shows towards him- or herself, but also others around him. Advocacy for life and respect go hand in hand – therefore is my conclusion that people, who militant try to protect life as we see often in the right corner of churches and faith-based organisations, have a deficit in the appreciation of life in general. Far fetched? Well, that’s only my opinion.

Filed under: General, HIV and AIDS, Reflection, Society and living environment, , , , , , , ,

01/22/2010 • 10:49 pm Comments Off on 22.01.2010 Friday eve…

22.01.2010 Friday eve…

Discussion with a lecturer from Munich about a photo exhibition during the World Cup 2010 featuring the lives of people here in South Africa. We discuss the possibility to feature in this exhibition also a HOPE community health worker or the HOPE doctor. An interesting way of having a look on the life of a person from HOPE Cape Town: through a camera which keeps moments in a life’s time to show the reality of daily routine, hardship and joy. I think it is a good idea and for HOPE Cape Town also interesting to get a photographic feed back  on the work we are doing through our front people: the HOPE community health workers.

Luncheon with a friend – always good just to let go and talk and consider and plan for going together to Germany and Italy in May – unfortunately business related. But still: it is interesting to see after so many years, that friendship can create synergies assisting the work within the Archdiocese of Cape Town. A very good feeling about it – and an outstanding service at the so-called family restaurant.

Office work, phone calls, preparations – a decent dinner with nice people – this day brought a good mix of everything and looking back at the week, which started in Bangkok and will end in Newlands – a diversity of experience within a week which makes one grateful. I hope for more such good weeks to come in the next time…

Filed under: Reflection, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, , , , , , , ,

01/22/2010 • 12:36 am Comments Off on 22.01.2010 A long day

22.01.2010 A long day

…draws to an end, beginning at 6 in the morning and ending now after midnight. The last 48 hours have been amazingly divers and interesting. I did not know that I brought so much energy with me from my holidays. Resting a lot seems to have helped to recover and gain the energy needed to tackle the first days after coming back.

A great eve with people from Switzerland ended this evening, good talks, nice food. lovely company. It simply felt good again – sitting outside after the meal and chatting a bit the night away. I once again realised how privileged I am to live and work in South Africa. And I also realised how much people expect from me and how much challenge is still lying ahead. That is enough realisation for one day.

Next week are two major fundraising events for HOPE Cape Town – the Golf tournament at Pearl Valley Golf Estates on Monday and on Tuesday the Horse Auction from the Catholic Men’s Society Milnerton/Brooklyn – at 7pm Milnerton Town Hall. If you have time come and join the crowd, bid on a horse, win and do good at the same time.

And don’t forget to circle in your calendar the 22.5. 2010 – Ball of HOPE – together with the Southern African – German Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Westin Grand Hotel.

And many more exciting events to come. Watch the space.

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

01/20/2010 • 11:05 pm Comments Off on 20.01.2010 Haiti

20.01.2010 Haiti

What can one say about Haiti – days after the earthquake one can still find miracles – people being found while trapped for days – but one also finds the impotence of the modern world to deal with disasters like it. After hurricane Katharina now Haiti is showing us how little we so developed nations with all our equipment can do when nature strikes. For me, besides all the human tragedy it is always amazing to see that we reach to the stars, explore the universe – but are not able to handle mother nature and it’s sometimes brutal aftermath. We are not the crown of creation – but part of it – and being part of creation means being part of living and dying in the circle of life – sometimes so completely against the way we portrait nature: gentle, perfect – or as it is stated in the Bible:  – and it was good.

We have to reconcile our longing for harmony between human mankind and nature with the realities: eaten and being eaten, natural disasters killing innocent people every year. The lion is still not laying with the lamb – but in Africa every year people are killed by wild animals; tornados, thunderstorms, storm flooding, earthquakes, avalanches – they all produce victims and most of it is completely unpredictable and most times, the poorest are impacted the most.

For me it also shows how precious life is – how sumptuous every minute we live and how fast it can be end. Such tragedy is not only a challenge for our compassion and solidarity, but also a reminder about the value of every minute we are able to live and put a meaning to our living.

Haiti – time to open our hearts and show solidarity, but also to open our minds and reflect on the meaning of it all.
And yes, it is difficult to reconcile or explain what has happened, but the most stupid explanation I have read so far was the one of a well-known American preacher Pat Robertson, who according to CNN attributed the earthquake to the fact, that Haiti “swore a pact to the devil” by the creation of Haiti.

Filed under: General, Reflection, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , ,

01/18/2010 • 7:24 pm Comments Off on 18.01.2010 Back to work…

18.01.2010 Back to work…

Who does not know the feeling at the end of a holiday to be thorn between liking to stay a bit longer but also the curiosity to get home and back to the daily routine of working, eating, sleeping and dreaming of the next holidays.
And I think I have enough to be excited about when coming home: HOPE Cape Town will get new offices under the wings of pharmacology and I will have my office there, much better than working from home. “Going to work” has its merit – coming home as well – combining both one sometimes does not know when one is at work or at leisure.

Travel to the 2nd ecumenical church days in Munich, Rome, several invitations to talks, working meetings with Joachim Franz and his team (www.wae.de), the Ball of HOPE, the HOPE Gala Dresden, the “Berliner AIDS Gala”, Blankenese and the Walzertal, the World AIDS Conference and not to forget the Soccer World Cup in South Africa are waiting – for latter I applied to be a volunteer and will have an interview coming week. Exciting times – and of course some holidays in between.
The 10th anniversary of the Southern African – German Chamber of Commerce in February is not forgotten on this list – as well as all the promised visits to each and every township clinic to visit all our HOPE Community Health Workers at their working place. Developing new projects and continuing the already running work of HOPE Cape Town has also its merits on the scale of excitement.

So yes, it is time to come home and to get going again and to see, how I can live in my new role as “present of faith”.
A new bishop in Cape Town, the work with POZ, the working group dealing with HIV positive clergy – also on this side is a lot to come. And I already agreed to supply in quite some parishes which means to get more insight and learn more about life in the different societies of Greater Cape Town.

Well, what can I say: Cape Town, I am coming..:-))

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

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