God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

08/28/2009 • 9:04 am Comments Off on 28.08.2009 Light at the end of the tunnel…

28.08.2009 Light at the end of the tunnel…

Friday morning, a new day and slowly but surely the clouds of uncertainty are fading away. As it looks in the moment, I will stay in Cape Town to continue my work in the fields of HIV and AIDS with HOPE Cape Town and the Catholic AIDS Network (CAN) of the Archdiocese of Cape Town. This would enable me to built on the last more than 8 years of work in this portfolio. I must admit that I would be very happy to dedicate my time and energy for this cause and to create, develop and foster relationships in this field between Europe and South Africa.

Regarding the German speaking Catholic Communities in Cape Town and Durban the future is now also decided. I accept the fact that there is a termination of contract and I will not take the matter for a juridical review within the church. It would damage the church, waste a lot of energies and I cannot see the need to fight those, who decided to get me out of this portfolio. I don’t feel any need to have a dependency of any kind to them. My farewell in Cape Town will be on the 4th of October 2009, in Durban on the 13.9.2009.
I feel sad about leaving the communities – I felt home with the people in the last 12 years, but I guess, for a priest it is normal to change positions – and in our days, it applies for a lot of professions. The good old times, where priests where sitting for ages in one little village are gone….

But I am also looking forward to the new challenge and I know that I can continue to build on a good foundation – life is good and at the end, the bible is right:  God can write straight on twisted lines. Light at the end of the tunnel…

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

08/27/2009 • 7:35 am Comments Off on 27.08.2009 Decisions

27.08.2009 Decisions

It is a beautiful morning, blue sky – seems to be a perfect day. Today, the consultors of the local Archbishop of Cape Town meet and amongst all the topics one can find also my future to be finally determined. So somehow it is an important day – and as it started perfectly I hope and expect it will go on like that..  :-).

I know that quite some candles are burning, some prayers are said – and I strongly believe in destiny – and I can sense and feel that my destiny is Africa. I want to live and to die here on this continent. Having lived in South Africa now for more than 12 years, I cannot deny the beauty of the county and the continent, as far as I have seen it. I also cannot deny the brutality of life and death, the immediateness of life, the beauty of nature, which leaves one breathless at times, the pride of people and tribes, which unfortunately has also its downsides by killing each other. Nevertheless, the thin layer of “First world culture”, we have in Europe, is missing – and you know what: Most times I appreciate this very much so. Africa is not the lost continent but the most promising one…

I never have been more happy and content as in South Africa, working here means to be able to make a real difference. Something, all the DIN-A-something norms in Europe make almost impossible. So I hope for a working and living future in South Africa and Africa and that I am able to make a difference in the lives of people living with the HI virus as I tried to do in the last years.

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

08/26/2009 • 8:17 am Comments Off on 26.08.009 a new day…

26.08.009 a new day…

8 in the morning, a new day is beginning to blossom, the first sunshine is visible and promising a clear sunny Cape Town winter day. Lets hope that it stays like that.
Every day is like an empty sheet of paper and it is mainly up to me, what will be scribbled on this sheet during the day. I only can hope that one can recognise my handwriting at the end of the day.

Every day anew we have the change to live our own life, to change our perceptions, to live more fully, to take on opportunities, to better our lives and that of others. So many opportunities lying ahead. Which will I take, which will I not take up and maybe lose forever?

Every day is a new gift – and every day might be my last day, my last sunrise, my last meeting with people, my last casual chat… nobody knows when this day will break, but living every day as it would be the last is surely the best way of preparing for this very last day as a human on earth.

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08/25/2009 • 11:14 pm Comments Off on 25.08.2009 A long day…

25.08.2009 A long day…

A long day draws to an end, filled with meetings, paper work and the management meeting of HOPE Cape Town. It is amazing to see where we are at now after 8 years of work.  Academic research and grass root projects are filling the agenda, and the question, whether one can do an outing during Ramadan, as we have employees of Muslim faith.
The discussion shows how sensitive the issue is – and that during Ramadan, some Muslims want to refrain from social activities.
The group of employees had decided nevertheless to do the outing – but this discussion will be surely a focus point during the time to discuss different cultures and resulting expectations. It also shows that it is necessary to keep a calender with all important religious times to give space to the needs of those taking religion seriously.

After two years, all HOPE community health workers are going for two days away, for most of them it is a real break from daily life and the daily struggle. But it should also be an opportunity to debrief our men and women at the forefront of our work. It is amazing with what they all have to cope with: work, sometimes very poor working conditions, extended families with all the problems, own kiddies and those of the sisters and brothers and so on and so on…

41 HOPE community health worker have been employed by HOPE Cape Town during the last 8 years, most of them have climbed the latter at a certain point, well trained the Province of the Western Cape has snatched some away and promoted to good position within the health system. HOPE Cape Town becomes more and more a starting point for people, who seriously want to get involved in heath issues and community work, based at the respective primary health care facility.

The two hour management meeting is full of proposals, requests, lots of decision are taken which will be implemented in the next days and weeks from our staff. It is amazing, but you go home with the feeling that you really can change the world a little bit.. at least here in South Africa, here in the Western Cape.  Great stuff!

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

08/25/2009 • 9:28 am Comments Off on 25.08.2009 The US is moving on HIV & AIDS

25.08.2009 The US is moving on HIV & AIDS

THE BRIEFING ROOM

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
____________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                                        August 21, 2009

President Obama Announces National HIV/AIDS Community Discussions

First Event, the Atlanta HIV/AIDS Community Discussion, to be Held on August 25th at the 2009 National HIV Prevention Conference Community Discussions will feed into the development of a National HIV/AIDS Strategy

WASHINGTON – President Obama today announced the launch of the National HIV/AIDS Community Discussions, a series of events to be held across the country. These events, hosted by the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) will offer the public a chance to provide input as the White House works to fulfill the President’s pledge to develop a National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS). The first event, the Atlanta HIV/AIDS Community Discussion, will be held on August 25th at the 2009 National HIV Prevention Conference.

“HIV remains an serious challenge to the American people and I am committed to developing an effective National HIV/AIDS Strategy,” said President Obama. “The National HIV/AIDS Community Discussions will provide an opportunity for members of the public to give their input on how we can best address this crucial issue. With the insights from communities across the country, we will have a strategy that is focused on the goals of reducing HIV incidence, getting people living with HIV/AIDS into care and improving health outcomes, and reducing HIV-related health disparities.”

With more than 56,000 new HIV infections occurring in the United States each year, the President believes that we must re-focus national attention on the domestic epidemic. He has articulated three goals for the NHAS: reducing HIV incidence, increasing access to care and optimizing health outcomes, and reducing HIV-related health disparities. The national HIV/AIDS community discussions are just one mechanism for engaging the American people and obtaining input. The Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) will also provide input, and public comments submitted to the ONAP website will also be taken into consideration.

ONAP is part of the White House Domestic Policy Council and is tasked with coordinating the continuing efforts of the United States government to reduce the number of HIV infections across the U.S., and respond to the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS.

The Atlanta HIV/AIDS Community Discussion will be held on August 25th as part of the 2009 National HIV Prevention Conference, which is being held in Atlanta from August 23-26. The Community Discussion is open to conference participants and 200 tickets have been set-aside for the local Atlanta community. ONAP is also meeting with local HIV services organizations while it is in Atlanta.

Other cities in which communities discussions will be held are: Washington, DC; New York, NY; San Francisco, Oakland, and Los Angeles, CA; Houston, TX; Albuquerque, NM; Jackson, MS; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Minneapolis, MN; Columbia, SC; Puerto Rico; and the Virgin Islands. Specific dates will be announced later.

Filed under: General, Politics and Society, , , , ,

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