God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

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, , , , , , , ,

01/26/2010 • 11:55 pm Comments Off on 26.01.2010 Milnerton

26.01.2010 Milnerton

IT is almost midnight and I just come back from the horse race auction at the Milnerton town hall, organised by the Men’s Society of the Catholic parish Milnerton / Brooklyn. As always a big thanks to Brian Sharkey and his team and the horse-race community for all their efforts to race funds for HOPE Cape Town and also for an evening full of excitement through auctions and the bids. It feels great to have such supporters.

It was a long day, also with a meeting of the POZ team in Mannenberg, where we discussed what kind of theological substance we bring to our cause. When we want to bring the quest of HIV positive clergy to the bishops, there must be some theological thinking done beforehand. It was a very constructive meeting and I have the feeling that we are going our path slowly, but surely and that we develop in a way appropriate to the tricky topic. I am glad to have such great colleagues working with me on this.

So in total a good day, lots of new appointments and meeting requests came their way – the next two weeks are surely not boring.

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

01/25/2010 • 4:25 pm Comments Off on 25.01.2010 Golf Day

25.01.2010 Golf Day

Today is a Golf Day in lieu of HOPE Cape Town, tomorrow the horse auction at the Milnerton Town Hall. It is amazing to see what people can do to support a good cause. Brian Sharkey and the Men’s Society of the Milnerton/Brooklyn Catholic Church are indeed busy to support HOPE Cape Town and they are doing in now since years. It is always good to be with them in the beginning of a new year and to experience the goodness of people. HOPE Cape Town is very grateful for these local supporters – and that is a focal point of fundraising also for this year: to expand the circle of sponsors and friends of HOPE Cape Town in South Africa. People living here should own their country and they should work hard to make their very own country a better place. Judging from experience it is not often the case. Very often it is easy to support those who are living far away- but to forget the nightmares in front of the own door. I guess it is an international phenomenon. The Men’s Society shows that it is good and worthwhile to look not too far for a moment but to see the needs around the corner of the parish boundaries. I am grateful to know all these people. Well done and all success for today and tomorrow.

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

01/18/2010 • 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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