God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

11/01/2009 • 5:31 pm 1

01.11.2009 HOPE Gala Dresden afterthoughts

After some hours of sleep and a long brunch with people it this now time to reflect on the HOPE Gala Dresden again. It was a marvellous event, the first “red carpet” charity event in Dresden.  With the Federal Minister of Interior, Thomas de Mezier and wife, many stars and starlets, security and media attention have been marvellous. And the announcement of the cancellation of the announced laudators presence at the gala during the press conference before created also interest, it comes seldom that one hears of a cancelation of a star a week before the event.

The diversity in this programme, singers, pianists, artists contributed to the success and the aftershow- party was great. Lots of good food, music and interesting people. I had lots of good talks and networking was like always a priority. We also had guests coming from St. Wendel and even from Russia to attend the gala. Global village. From all it is clear that the connection Dresden – HOPE Cape Town is a good and developing one – and I do hope that we can develop even a sort of partnership between Dresden and Cape Town. During my next stay in Dresden in will see the mayor of Dresden to discuss possible further connections.

I am grateful to Saxonia Systems and Viola Klein and all those marvellous people who made this evening possible. And as I said at the press conference last Thursday: The love of two people, which lead them to come to Cape Town and being married with my assistance as marriage officer was the beginning of a connection bringing people from Dresden and Cape Town close together. It shows for me clearly that love can move the world, two people, one love, one committment and now hundreds are meanwhile joining to make this connection stronger and stronger every year. It is a fantastic story as only real life can write it.

Another highlight of my stay in Dresden was the possibility to bring people together, I work with and now there is emerging a network so powerful that we will be able to move the world even a bit further. Watch the space – if only half of what is planed will be realised, my life will not be the same again – and that of many other people as well.  And for HOPE Cape Town it means to find even more partner and friends – for our clients it means more hope and a greater future.

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

10/30/2009 • 3:27 pm Comments Off on 30.10.2009 Last dramas before a gala

30.10.2009 Last dramas before a gala

For the HOPE Dresden Gala, the organisers have donated an award, the so-called HOPE Award. The first award winner is Waris Dirie, former model and UN ambassador fighting against female circumcision. Her book and movie “Desert rose” has touched the lives of many people. She is a symbol for the beauty and the suffering of Africa in many ways reading her lifestory. XXX XXX XXX So I will do the “laudatio”.. and Waris Dirie is fine with it.Al Martino was due to sing – he died a fortnight ago – that is life pure and one cannot do anything to prevent it. But also here we are grateful that somebody else just agreed to come, no fees asked and herself being a world star. Great!!
So many big and small things are to be considered and prepared before such a big event – and I am grateful and humbled to see how people sacrifice their free time and energy to achieve a great event for the sake of their brothers and sisters in Africa. On http://www.hopegala.de, one can see the programme and also pics from the last three years. Have a look. And I salute all organisers, sponsors and the Dresdener for hosting such a great event. Viva Dresden!!

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

10/29/2009 • 6:53 pm Comments Off on 29.10.2009 A day to remember…

29.10.2009 A day to remember…

The 29.10.2009 is a special day for me – it is the day, where HOPE Cape Town was launched officially in 2001.  It was a day I remember clearly: the drive to Tygerberg with a guest in my car who just had been given a positive test result. Clem Sunter giving a talk for the 150 man/women strong audience, a priest, a rabbi and an imam giving the blessings, the invited sangomas who were not that welcomed in the “academic environment” at that time, the buffet done by the Rotary ladies afterwards.

A day not to be forgotten – it changed my life forever and 8 years later, I can say that nothing is as it has been before that time. HIV and AIDS, these topics seems today to be my destiny – my life portfolio and I get more and more the sense, that I am – after 8 years – not be at the end of my way but only at the beginning. And this is sometimes scary to sense, to feel and to know. It is a topic, a red line in my life now, that I have never called for, but that without asking entered my life and took over in so many ways. AIDS activist, condom priest, rebel in the church – how many titles did I earn in the last years – and how many in my own church feel uncomfortable to get associated with me? On the other hand: How much love, how much support did I get from all ways of life in the last years. How many emails, letters did I receive as an answer on my book, the talks and workshops, the sermons and whatever way I was asked to give input in this field of the pandemic.

curse and blessing – and all the grey areas in between – but one is for sure: This topic has opened to me a world I don’t want to miss anymore – this topic has given me the chance to meet people in a way, which one can call indeed real encounters of hearts and minds and souls. I don’t want to miss one of them.

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

10/28/2009 • 5:25 pm Comments Off on 28.10.2009 450 youngsters…

28.10.2009 450 youngsters…

A big surprise when I enter the Liebfrauen church in Bitburg for the first part of my day: talking and celebrating a prayer service with the students of the St. Willibrord Gymnasium. Round about 450 students are filling the church – I am not sure what I thought before but I was indeed surprised to see so many youngsters. Talk and service went well, we were able to connect and it seems, at least according to some teachers afterwards, the noise level was significant lower than in other services. The youngsters listened – a good experience and quite energizing for me. And energy I needed: After the service I met with 120 students of class 13 – the Abitur class.  At the “Haus der Jugend” we had time to discuss matters and to try to bridge the gap between South Africa and Germany. And again an audience to connect to – with good questions and I hope some good answers too.

Prevention, treatment, sexuality, sangomas, academic research, grass root projects, theology, church and condoms – there was not a lot untouched during the discussion – a lively debate.

After that I went with the principal and the teachers to the school to be formally welcomed in front of all teachers. The principal found some nice words of welcome and some of my very own teachers 30 years ago were still working – a pleasure to meet them again. 2 Jahrggangsstufen (standard 8 and standard 9) were singled out to have a discussion with me during the next two hours. Amazing to hear that some students came after the talk to pass on the regards of their parents who happened to be my friends and neigbors or classmates while I was myself a student of the school.

Then a nice drive to Aachen – changing briefly into Belgium to cut time and some more busy streets – and now I prepare for my evening talk about “HIV and AIDS as signs of the time” – with a discussion afterward with the students of the University of Aachen. As mentioned before the representatives of misereor, misso and others where not allowed to discuss this topic with me – and I still feel sorry for them: not talking to each other is the worst case scenario for us as Christians. It is indeed a shame, as I strongly believe that we all try to find ways and solutions serving mankind. And we do this with seriousness and we all deserve respect and a listening ear for our ideas. I hope and pray that this ignorance will cease soon and that we are able to engage in fruitful discussion. I am amazed to see who all is talking to me, also from the church side – but not those big Catholic development agencies. Are they are scared of competition? Or anything else I am not aware?

Be it as it is – I am looking forward to discuss a theology of HIV and AIDS with the students and to see, whether my very fragmented approach of theology, bounced on the minds of those students, can develop further. I continue to hope for the best…

Filed under: HIV Prevention, HIV Treatment, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Medical and Research, Networking, Politics and Society, , , , , , , , , , , ,

10/28/2009 • 1:02 am Comments Off on 28.10.2009 Lions Club

28.10.2009 Lions Club

A talk at the Lions Club in my hometown Bitburg concludes the day – for 90 minutes I am telling them about life in South Africa, HOPE Cape Town and the situation in my country of residence and work. It is amazingly silent in the room, the people follow in a way which is amazing for me, questions are asked afterwards and I go home with the feeling that people were genuine interested to hear what I had to tell them.

This is a night, were I feel I can be the bridge between people of different cultural background, where bridging is done successfully and were I guess we all go home somehow touched. Now I still have to prepare for this morning, the church service and all the encounters with the students a whole morning before heading to Aachen for an evening talk.

It is tiring but rewarding to be able to touch peoples life and I am grateful to be able to do this work.  I know that a piece of Africa will stay for the time being in the Eifel.

Reading this blog again, I just realise the word amazing twice in one sentence. But I guess it describes my feeling the best – it is always a challenge to be able to touch people’s heart and mind at the same time – and for me, it is always a little miracle when it happens during an encounter of such sort. It gives a sense of meaning to what one is trying to do, it is the spice in the soup of the life of an activist.

Filed under: Networking, Reflection, , , ,

Blog Categories

Follow God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE on WordPress.com

You can share this blog in many ways..

Bookmark and Share

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,711 other subscribers

Translation – Deutsch? Française? Espanol? …

The translation button is located on each single blog page, Copy the text, click the button and paste it for instant translation:
Website Translation Widget

or for the translation of the front page:

* Click for Translation

Copyright

© Rev Fr Stefan Hippler and HIV, AIDS and HOPE.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Rev Fr Stefan Hippler and HIV, AIDS and HOPE with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

This not withstanding the following applies:
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.