God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

03/24/2010 • 4:36 pm Comments Off on 24.03.2010 Ball of HOPE – 22.05.2010

24.03.2010 Ball of HOPE – 22.05.2010

This morning meeting with Anja from the Southern African – German Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Adolf from the German Speaking Catholic Community as well as Petra from the Mediterranean Villa to discuss where we are with the Ball of HOPE 2010.
We discussed program, technicalities and the usual nitti-gritties connected with such an event. Since years the Ball of HOPE is one of the major social events in Cape Town with dinner, life music, dance, raffle and first class entertainment. Up to 300 guests can enjoy an evening of fun and laughter, but also of reflection on those less fortune than themselves. Having fun and doing good is the motto. So if you are living in and around Cape Town don’t forget to book to avoid disappointment. And if you leave abroad, there is always a reason to visit Cape Town as our mainly German visitors every year show.

The Ball of HOPE is a fundraiser, but the first objective is to remind people of their fellow neighbors, mainly poor and under siege with the HIV pandemic. For me personally it is an evening where we can be a like a bridge bringing people together who otherwise would never meet. Two worlds are meeting, living so much apart but at the end of the evening people go home with joy in their hearts and others have future and hope because of this event. We are blessed to do this now already for the 13th time in a row. Thanks to the fantastic people in Cape Town and where ever they come from to join us on this eve.

This years entertainment program will include the duet of a vocal star and a promising newcomer – performing together with the Brooklyn Holy Cross Primary School choir – a feast for those who will have the privilege to listen to them.

Welcome to the Ball of HOPE – tickets or more info via the SA – German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Cape Town or Petra @ the Mediterranean Villa 021 423 21 88. Or send me an email, also good  🙂 See you there.

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

03/18/2010 • 10:46 pm Comments Off on 18.03.2010 Why has a day only 24 hours..?

18.03.2010 Why has a day only 24 hours..?

This is a question, I often ask me, but then again, maybe I am the workaholic some people see in me. Be it as it may be, very often one wishes for more time to finalize matters, get the email box empty and all those nice things letting one feel satisfied in the evening when at home.

On the other hand one has to learn to limit oneself – life is more than just work. Only the balance between work and recreation makes life worth living. I guess sometimes my ying and yang are not in balance in this matter. 🙂

Today was filled with an interview, looking for a team secretary for our Ithemba ward and a meeting with the person responsible for the PR work of Tygerberg Academic Health Complex. It is important to keep in touch with her and also to discuss how we want to strive a balance now during the world cup year between the interest of visitors and journalists to learn first hand about the situation and the smooth running of a hospital ward. But I am confident that we are able to find the right balance. We also discussed the promotion of the  hospital itself – the fundraising efforts are – compared with other hospitals – still quite in the beginning of full blossoming and I offered my expertise to the lady if need be.

Rotary in the middle of the day – I needed some signatures to get a matching grant into motion. HOPE Cape Town needs urgently a second vehicle and we are grateful that some Rotary Clubs under the guidance of Michael Eisenmenger from the St. Wendel Club is taking it into their hands to organise the funding of such a vehicle. Rotary is a wonderful organisation, not only because of this, but after 13 years of being a Rotarian I am convinced that this big organisation is able to change a lot of the face of this earth.

Office work in the afternoon is part of almost every days life – sometimes I feel that emails are a curse rather than a blessing. But on the other hand quick communication is of essence in our days and so I try to keep up with it. Besides all the work in the fields of HIV and AIDS I am getting also more and more involved in the fields of renewable energy. Beginning of April we will constitute in Johannesburg a national working task force on renewable energy / energy efficiency under the umbrella of the Southern African – German Chamber of Commerce and Industry and I will be part of it as vice chair of the Regional Council of the Chamber. A lot new stuff to learn for me, but an exciting field and very much necessary in our days and specially also in South Africa. To learn new things also keeps an old mind going again.. good for my brain cells… 🙂

Evening – dinner with friends on a lighter note and with lots of laughter and chatter. Good so. A nice end to another 24 hours…

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

02/12/2010 • 10:56 pm Comments Off on 12.02.2010 Chamber’s celebration

12.02.2010 Chamber’s celebration

A full day today, this morning first some phone calls to clarify outstanding issues, then driving to the lovely wine farm of Blaauwklippen where the Southern African – German Chamber of Commerce and Industry celebrates the 10th anniversary of the opening of its Cape Town Regional Office. At first a formal meeting with the Senior Council, the Directorate and the Regional Council and you can see the difference: The people from Johannesburg are dressed nicely all in black suits – not very common in Cape Town, but it makes me feel a bit under-dressed in my Cape Town outfit.. 🙂
Nevertheless, the meeting serves also the purposes to present the proposal to form a national task force on renewable energy/energy efficiency and it is my task to present this proposal to the senior council. After a short discussion the proposal is accepted and after 80 minutes the meeting done.

The afternoon programme continues with the arrival of more guests on the wine farm, among them Helen Zille, the premier and the German Ambassador Dieter Haller as well as the German and Austrian Consul General.  The speeches are not too long and I am chuffed about the fact, that HOPE Cape Town is also mentioned from the premier as one of the outstanding German contributions towards South Africa in the Western Cape and Charles Scheltemacher from the Regional Council reminds the people that indeed I was the first customer of the newly opened office needing some donations in form of computers and routers. And I am amazed that out of this not only came the joined Ball of HOPE as the annual function of Chamber and church for HOPE Cape Town, but also a wonderful friendship with Anja, the representative here in the Cape. She is indeed the best girlfriend, a priest is allowed to have … 🙂 A wonderful afternoon, catching up with so many people, having to explain the concept of a Fidei Donum priest and my new role within the church – I really enjoyed the time and the chats and the food and the drinks and the weather – in one word: jolly good afternoon.

In the evening then home again and still some work to do, sitting in my little office and trying to get a bit of work done before chatting with friends in Germany via Skype for quiet a while. Also that so wonderful to be able to chat long without being bankrupt and seeing the persons on the other side. Technology can be a blessing.

So summa summarum a day with mostly positive energy and what I did not get finished this eve on work can also wait until tomorrow morning… 🙂

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

01/27/2010 • 10:25 pm Comments Off on 27.01.2010 a normal day..

27.01.2010 a normal day..

Standing up at 6h10 this morning, and being at the office before 7am. First checking emails & news before going to town. Meeting with my co-operation partner Anja Tambusso Ferraz from the Southern African – German Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Petra Reichwein from the Mediterranean Villa to discuss the next Ball of HOPE, to be held on the 22nd of May 2010 at the Westin Grand Hotel. A bit later our musical director Adolf Thelen joins to discuss the musical arrangements. After that planing for the service on Ash Wednesday for the Holy Cross Primary School in Brooklyn.  Back to the office and working on reducing the stable of papers, files and folders on the desk, answering letters, phone calls before heading off again to an interview regarding a volunteer position during soccer world cup 2010. I am considered for a “protocol position” and faced with 3 interviewers I try to answer all the questions. It is amazing to sit again in an interview on the side with the one chair.. 🙂

Back to the office, more phone calls, more paper work, some preparations for tomorrow for a talk and some meetings and at 6pm home, only to meet with friends at 7 for dinner. Back home at 9h30 pm – some reading of theological nature and now the blog and a last check on emails. Preparing some papers for the senior staff meeting of HOPE Cape Town tomorrow and for my sergeant duties at the Rotary meeting tomorrow noon time.  A day is done… nothing extra-ordinary but enough left for tomorrow and the rest of the week.

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