God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

A memory…

Remembering the Ball of HOPE in Cape Town last May
– what a fantastic evening full of fun and laughter, but also reflection on the hard work, the organization HOPE Cape Town is doing as well as the dedication of the Southern African – German Chamber of Commerce & Industry to support trade and knowledge exchange between the respective countries.

If you have missed it – the next Ball of HOPE in Cape Town @ the Westin will be on the 12th of May 2018. Diarize it and make sure to be part of a great social event. But if you can’t wait and you want to support of HOPE Cape Town sooner – there are always lots of possibilities:

 

The HOPE Gala in Dresden on the 28th of October is happening soon and tickets are available via the HOPE Gala‘s web page.

You can donate towards the good cause securely via this web-page link: HOPE Cape Town South Africa (Donation is tax-deductible)

And did you know that we have also sister organisations:

in Germany HOPE Kapstadt Stiftung Germany and the USA HOPE Cape Town USA which all issue tax-deductible receipts.

Filed under: Africa, HIV and AIDS, HOPE Cape Town Association, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Trust, HOPE Cape Town USA, HOPE Gala Dresden, SA-German Chamber of Commerce & Industry, South Africa, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

HOPE Gala Dresden sold out again

HOPE GalaThis is again exciting news: The HOPE Gala in Dresden is sold out again – and many requests for tickets are still coming in. It it once again amazing to know that experiencing a great eve and doing good can go a long way together. HOPE Cape Town is delighted as are also the organizers. Two days before the event, I can sense that strains and expectations are rising – and thousands of little things are still to be fixed, organised and put on track. Arriving in Dresden on Tuesday with Fr Wim and meeting some of the supporters and sponsors personally beforehand it is again thrilling for me to experience the goodwill, the enthusiasm and willingness to go the extra mile to make the event a success and to give at the same time hope and future to HIV affected and infected children in South Africa.

Meeting Andreas and Katrin Moench – whose wedding in Cape Town was the starting point of the HOPE Gala 2001 in somehow mysterious ways and watching Viola Klein and Michaela Gornickel spearheading every years events is more than just a pleasure – it feels good to see people determined to make a difference year after year. HOPE Cape Town is grateful to all involved by supporting, organizing and attending this years HOPE Gala Dresden – the 9th Gala in Dresden. Thanks from the bottom of my heart and in the name of all who benefit from the solidarity of all involved.

Filed under: General, HIV and AIDS, HOPE Cape Town Association, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Trust, HOPE Gala Dresden, Networking, Reflection, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

8 years… gosh…

Hope_Logo_RGB_TRUSTSocial media and webpages have not only a meaning to connect people with each other, but also to remind oneself of time flying. There are always these birthday reminders which I truly love as they cover up my forgetfulness. 🙂 But also other achievements are noted and pop up and then people respond. This month LinkedIn reminded me that the HOPE Cape Town Trust is already 8 years in existence – born on the 6.5.2006 and I really cannot believe that the eight years have flown by so far. I generally have a problem with feeling time – it seems to me, that somewhere in the thirties my mindset stopped and refused to grow really older, but continued (hopefully 🙂 ) to mature with times. So the funny feeling is that the body grows older, the wrinkles are more but the mind is still as fresh as it has been years ago.
Getting older as an organization means that one has to look again and again staying relevant and reading the signs of the times instead of resting on old achievements and expecting the rest of the world to do cherish them for eternity. The HOPE Cape Town Trust was founded with the vision that one day the Trust takes over the marketing and fundraising arm of HOPE Cape Town as an entity. After finding its feet and developing in the shadow of the HOPE Cape Town Association we are now at the point where exactly this is happening. A vision becomes reality and it is instantly replaced by new and other challenges and it is great to see the dynamics of thought 8 years ago creating new opportunities for an NGO in our times. It’s a dynamic which makes it so important to know where you are coming from, where you roots are and only so, you are able to reach out for the stars in the future. Fascinating…
Thanks to all and everybody who supported HOPE Cape Town and specially the HOPE Cape Town Trust in the last 8 years. A special thanks to Evelyn Chimbobe-Munoro who drafted the first deed of trust pro-bono at her Fairbridges Attorneys offices at that time and a memento to Auntie Pat (Gorvalla) who already passed on to higher services. Today, trustees from South Africa, Switzerland and Germany are safeguarding the future of HOPE Cape Town and I am convinced that the future looks bright for the HOPE Cape Town Trust and the organization HOPE Cape Town as an entity. It is also good to know that we have a little sister trust in Germany called the HOPE Kapstadt Stiftung, which is a brainchild of HOPE Cape Town and the German Aids Foundation, born 2007 in Bonn (Germany).
Executive CommitteeAs we stretch out to the USA in the moment let’s wait and see what will be added to the growing HOPE Cape Town family in the near future.
(on the picture right the Executive Committee Sam Dibhesi Tuntubele, Carole Armstrong-Hooper, Stefan Hippler and Detlev Geiss)

Filed under: General, HOPE Cape Town Trust, Reflection, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

HOPE Cape Town is developing…

Tomorrow is the Annual General Meeting of the HOPE Cape Town Association, the working arm of HOPE Cape Town which consists of two arms: aforesaid HOPE Cape Town Association which is combining all the project work on the ground and HOPE Cape Town Trust, which is leading in fundraising and marketing of the work done. Together with the German AIDS Foundation, the HOPE Cape Town Trust has a common “child”, called HOPE Kapstadt Stiftung, a dependent trust governed by German law.  To complete the picture the HOPE Cape Town family has also very close relatives:  the Kuratorium Deutschland, which relates to the HOPE Cape Town Trust and is looking together with Viola Klein to support the HOPE Gala Dresden (26.10.2013). The Freundeskreis HOPE Cape Town Trust Olching e.V. is another German and Bavarian support group of the HOPE Cape Town Trust. Not to forget HOPE & Future e.V. in Münster (Germany), which is an essential part of our supporting family. And we HOPE to give birth in the near future also to an US American entity relating to HOPE Cape Town.  And locally our brainchild is also the Ball of HOPE together with the Southern-African – German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, next year taking place on the 11th of May 2014.

There is the idea of spreading the word about the “friends of HOPE Cape Town” and if you think, you can get some people together forming a small group supporting the goals of HOPE Cape Town, then feel free to contact me for further information. HOPE Cape Town depends like any other public benefit organization on the support of many – so HOPE Cape Town understands itself as much more than a local organization – we are a network of people trying to better the lives of South African’s living with HIV and TB and everything related to it.
Sometimes I am asked why TB and why we not concentrate on HIV? The answer is very simple: TB is the twin-sister of HIV in South Africa and to combat only HIV would not making sense. They are interlinked, and so are the other social problems attached to it. Studies have shown that poverty, unemployment and unfavorable conditions lead to early death even if treatment is available. So there is so much more to HIV and AIDS. And there is so much more to do – whatever we can do as HOPE Cape Town depends on resources, manpower and funds. We have grown to 31 employees and our portfolios range from the vegetable garden in Blikkisdorp to academic research @ the University of Stellenbosch. It will depend on the ongoing and additional support of people like you, the reader of this blog, whether we can enhance our work and do more to give people hope and future.  We are willing to go the extra – mile; come and join us in one of the many ways possible:

* Donation: All our donation options are summarized on our website under donation

* Tell friends about HOPE Cape Town and ask them to have a look at our website

* Maybe you consider to donate to capital (Zustiftung in German language) and make you money work for a good cause for eternity…
* Find a circle of friends to become ambassadors of HOPE – we can assist you in this…

* Visit us on Facebook, Twitter, Cause, share the links and stories and follow us

For all donations and donations to capital applies in Germany and South Africa: We are able to issue a tax-deductible receipt for the respective county.

Filed under: HIV and AIDS, HIV Prevention, HIV Treatment, HOPE Cape Town Association, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Trust, HOPE Gala Dresden, Medical and Research, Networking, Politics and Society, Reflection, Religion and Ethics, SA-German Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

8 days to go.. Gott-AIDS-Afrika in English

The book, originally published in the German language translated into English here on the blog. While the blog writer will be attending his duties “on sea” and working on a cruise-liner as the chaplain for 4 weeks, the reader here will have the chance to explore in February and March almost all chapters of the book in an English translation. Thanks to the person who has done the dedicated work of bringing German thoughts into an understandable English world of thoughts. Thoughts about the theology of AIDS, episodes of the life of patients and myself, encounters one cannot forget like the “last birthday” of the little Fareed, or “the silent death” of an employee to embarrassed about being HIV positive – small and big drama comes to life and shows the reality of HIV and AIDS in the context of my work as a priest and activist. I am very happy for every comment and feed back on this book, which changed my life quite dramatically.

Filed under: General, HIV and AIDS, HIV Prevention, HIV Treatment, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, HOPE Cape Town Trust, Medical and Research, Networking, Politics and Society, Reflection, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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