God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

03/22/2010 • 11:32 am Comments Off on 22.03.2010 Human Rights Day

22.03.2010 Human Rights Day

Yesterday we celebrated Human Rights Day – and today, thanks to South African law, we can enjoy a day off as this important day felt on a Sunday and consequently the Monday is a day-off. I like this law very much so.. 🙂

Human Rights Day is important, specially for a nation which must leave up to a constitution which is one of the most progressive in the world. But obviously the realities are in fact always different from the ideal of a constitution. Whether it is crime or HIV, whether we look onto our streets with all these horrible accidents killing hundreds of people every year – be it drunk-drive, driving without driver license or with a not roadworthy vehicle, the taxi industry like the Italian Mafia trying to enforce their might and power with strikes and AK 47’s – land reform or better the not even started land reform, the relationship between Xhosa’s and Zulu’s and others – our commitment to Human Rights are tested every day in South Africa and we fail too often.

I have the feeling that the Soccer World Cup 2010 has put at least a stop on it in the sense, that we haven’t fallen deeper in failing the Human Rights test. Alone for this fact, all efforts to support the World Cup have been a great success. But we have also now to look what will come after the 11.07.2010 when the political gloves are gone again and we specially in the Western Cape will experience the sort of political wrangle which influences the lives of the ordinary people and does not bring any good for the inhabitants.

Let’s hope that the positive push, we will experience from now on till the end of the tournament will produce a positive energy.

When I read the new national plan regarding HIV and AIDS; there is a turnaround which is magnificent. It shows that an energy was created to face the realities and to find ways to overcome it. It would be another South African miracle if we could follow through in the years to come and so transform South Africa from the champion of new infections to the champion in defeating the pandemic. A great dream, lets live it and work for it. HOPE Cape Town will definitely assist where ever we can.

Filed under: HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Reflection, Society and living environment, , , , , , ,

03/20/2010 • 9:33 am Comments Off on 20.03.2010 What has child abuse…

20.03.2010 What has child abuse…

… to do with a blog on HIV and AIDS? This is one of the question I was asked yesterday reflecting on the internet presence of HOPE Cape Town. Should such a blog be linked to a NGO website? I am not sure what you think, but I guess, my answer is a clear yes:

First of all, all work is done in a certain environment, and even HOPE Cape Town is no purely Catholic entity, we are founded in the Catholic and Christian spirit and the German-speaking Catholic Community Cape Town takes pride in this fact and supports the project in many ways. I am as the co-founder and chair for the first 6 years – I am a Catholic priest and of course my environment contributes to my way of working with HOPE Cape Town.

And there is more to it – when I have groups from overseas, they are all shocked by the high number of rapes happening here in South Africa – especially with under aged and within families. If you look into the child abuse case scenario of Germany, you will find that 95% of child abuse takes place within a family and closed friends environment. What does this tell us?

I think, the complexity of life and living it deserves a view beyond the tea-cup I am having in front of me – we have to see major trends, we have to look into the working environment and we have to consider factors which may put to rest a lot of  prejudices. Only if we look at the full picture we can judge a situation.
That is the reason why I once in a while strain into other territories – commenting on development besides HIV and AIDS.

A last example: I commented on the economic crisis. Why? Because the economic crises, as also the war in Afghanistan in Iraq by the way, contributes to the fact, that money especially from the USA for research and development of new drugs combatting the pandemic is fading. Once again, we have to look onto the greater picture, otherwise we are losing it. Nobody is living on an island anymore, and what happens in USA or Thailand or Israel or Iraq has an impact on our work here in South Africa. Like it or not – it is a matter of fact.

Filed under: General, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Networking, Reflection, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, , , , , , ,

03/19/2010 • 2:48 pm Comments Off on 19.03.2010 HOPE Cape Town Trust

19.03.2010 HOPE Cape Town Trust

In two hours the board of trustees of the HOPE Cape Town trust will congregate again at the Mediterranean Villa to discuss arising matters. The trust is still in the beginning, but the interest of the trustees is visible to make this trust a back up for HOPE Cape Town Association and to provide the necessary funds on the long-term run. This will take time and many efforts are medium term or long-term efforts, trying to guarantee the financial back up on the long-term run.

I am quite happy about our trustees and I trust that our meeting today will be a successful one. We will discuss the latest development at HOPE Cape Town Association before turning our attention to the efforts of our fundraising lady and her report back. A possible golf day and other events like the Ball of HOPE in May are on the agenda. But also BB BEE deals involving HOPE Cape Town Trust as a shareholder.

But this day was also about office work. I had to plan and arrange for the next travels, which will bring me to Johannesburg in April to attend the constitution of a national working group of the Southern African – German Chamber of Commerce and Industry on renewable energy/energy efficiency. Then Thailand for a couple of holidays. In May I then will travel to the Vatican and Germany for talks and meetings. June holds Johannesburg and Brits in church matters, before I have to fly to Vienna to attend the World AIDS Conference. August will bring some talks in Germany and Austria. So far the planing and the bookings are almost all done. In October / November I will attend the HOPE Gala Dresden and the Berliner AIDS Gala as well as attend some meetings. In between I have committed to quite some services and church related functions. So the year is indeed planed – but I am looking forward to each and every of these encounters with other people. Traveling makes tired, but meeting people energizes again. So  there is the balance of Ying and Yang in this case and I am looking forward to the end of the year, where hopefully a lot of these talks, seminars, meetings have been beneficial to HOPE Cape Town – especially those, who we care for in the townships of Cape Town.

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, , , , , , ,

03/15/2010 • 10:42 pm Comments Off on 15.03.2010 ORF

15.03.2010 ORF

An interview with the ORF about the churches stance on HIV and AIDS for a documentary occupies quiet a time in the afternoon. Before brief discussion with co-workers at the Ithemba office. Tomorrow the offices will move to the 7th floor of the University of Stellenbosch – Tygerberg Campus. On Thursday we will interview a person to be the team secretary, a person amongst others looking after the hospital side and the Ithemba ward. To run an organisation means so many small and bigger things to deal with during the day. It means in our days sometimes too many requests, emails and with 28 employees a lot of coordination and communication. It is again and again a challenge to keep all together, specially when one is spread so far apart like our HOPE community health workers in their 17 township communities.

In the morning a longer discussion with one management member about the HOPE Kapstadt Stiftung and the future of this particular trust. We agree about steps to take to ensure developement into what we see as the right direction. Long and medium term planing is needed besides all the day-to-day business.

A full Monday with office work in between – not to forget the hairdresser before the TV interview. Yes, also a priest wants to look good 🙂

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

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