Sometimes time is flying and one is taking a deep breath in the midst of the week being astonished about how fast time is flying.
The presentation at the Salesian Development AGM is already history, but I did enjoy being the guest speaker there and also listening to all the young people going into schools to bring behaviour changes. I was amazed to hear about another speaker’s experience of the Vienna conference: For her, it was too much biomedicine involved in the debate and she felt that the work in the fields of behaviour change is not acknowledged enough; therefore also not so much funding available for this particular field of expertise. I am not so sure about it, actions like circumcision, condoms, gels have a direct impact, to change somebody’s behaviour takes a bit longer and the problem with this pandemic is that we have not that much time. People are dying and we have to stop the force of the pandemic and with the surviving people, so to speak, we have then time to talk about behaviour changes. They are important, but they are the long term part of the whole process ending this pandemic.
This afternoon board meeting IAM dealing with issues in the GLBTI faith community. It is for me again and again amazing to see how much hate and anxiety is present when “believers” deal with this issue. Sexuality must indeed be a strong item of the human agenda when one can go on for ages about what is allowed or forbidden by natural law or God or the spirit. It is amazing to see how the right wing evangelical fundamentalists from the US tell the Africans what is “African” and how and in what kind of God to believe. It is indeed almost criminal what is happening in this field and the result are attempts of laws as seen in the moment in Uganda. A disgrace for mankind and for Africa.
Preparation for the meeting of the executive board of trustees of the HOPE Cape Town Trust for tomorrow are the final touch for today.
Filed under: Reflection, Africa, Church Matters, GLBTI, God, HOPE Cape Town Trust, people living with the virus, Salesian, uganda
God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE 