God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

Reflections / Gedanken

08/22/2013 • 9:15 am Comments Off on HOPE Cape Town is developing…

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.

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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, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

08/13/2013 • 4:49 pm Comments Off on 980 Millionen

980 Millionen

English: BRICS counties. BRICS - Brazil, Russi...

English: BRICS counties. BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, People’s Republic of China, South Africa. Português: As Potências regionais. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

980 million Euro – that was more or less the contribution of the EU to South Africa as special development money in the last budget circle. And when I traveled to Brussels last month, the question was, how much the European Union might give in the new budget. There are countries like Germany advocating for zero Euro. Simply because South Africa falls short the markers set by the World Bank for being categorized a developing country. Being a preferred partner for the EU also doesn’t help nor does joining the BRICS countries. Corruption and attitude of some representatives of the political sector also doesn’t help a lot.

This money is not even one percent of the South African annual budget, but still: it was used in the past to try new approaches, it was the money used for going new ways of governance, health care, development of democracy and much more which never otherwise would be part of the normal budget provided by government. On the request of the South African Representation to the EU I tried to lobby for a new round of developing money as I believe that South Africa, stripped of attitude and corruption is in urgent need of assistance from outside. Go to the Eastern Cape and I visited Sterkspruit last year deep into the eastern part of the fairest Cape – and you feel beamed back into a third world country. And government and NGO’s depend on the goodwill of others – putting aside political talk about an “African Renaissance” and “new colonial treads” – even in the sector of HIV and AIDS we would not have come that far without the assistance of the Global AIDS Fund. So politicians are asked to set aside ideology or party politics and concentrate to better the life of the people. And to establish a good governance to be entrusted with resources from those who are able to donate and give.

980 million Euro – it is for sure that there will be not that amount of money given again for the new budget circle. But lets lobby that there is more than zero – European Embassies are called to look realistically at South Africa and report back honestly about the situation where still people starving, living under the minimum to sustain their lives, where housing, clean water, health are not accessible for all.  And the NGO sector also needs still that kind of support even if most of the money is anyhow given to government, some is essential for the work of civil society organizations and NPO’s.

There is no decision yet, but there remains hope that the EU will consider South Africa as what it is: a country which came a long way but is still not able to run its affairs without assistance from partners outside.

Filed under: Politics and Society, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

08/06/2013 • 7:32 am Comments Off on Myth or reality?

Myth or reality?

The Consultation

The Consultation (Photo credit: bigbluemeanie)

We all have heard it many times: 80% of black South Africans consult a sangoma before they even consider going to a Western Clinic. I always wondered about it, having worked with sangomas and being involved with the work HOPE Cape Town has done and is still doing in parts with traditional leaders. What I have seen is little work for sangomas, lots of part-time traditional healers and a break down in related traditions in the townships of Cape Town. Well, a 2012 article in the South African Medical Journal went further, suggesting that “some 80% of South Africans use traditional medicine to meet their primary healthcare needs”. The claim has also been made in general terms about the population of Southern Africa and the African continent. So where did the claim originate and is there any truth to it?  GroundUp, a South African community journalism project, asked Africa Check to investigate. Their starting point was the World Health Organisation (WHO). A fact sheet on traditional medicine published by the body in 2008 is often cited when the claim is made. “In some Asian and African countries,” it states, “80% of the population depend on traditional medicine for primary health care.” The fact sheet does not include any evidence to substantiate the statement, but one can find a reference to a document discussing the WHO’s Traditional Medicine Strategy 2002-2005. And this was not the end of the research – to read more about Africa Check’s research and its amazing result follow this link.

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Filed under: Politics and Society, Reflection, Society and living environment, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

07/12/2013 • 8:01 am Comments Off on HIV transmission and questions around it…

HIV transmission and questions around it…

HIV Particle

HIV Particle (Photo credit: AJC1)

Even in a world where all information about HIV is out in the public there are still questions around transmission and viral load of people living with HIV. Especially when it comes to couples with one being positive and the other negative  these questions arise. In our South African context where there is a whole generation with many people being born and living with the virus, those questions are essential to be asked and answered properly.
Questions like:

* What is exactly viral load and how is it affected by HIV Treatment?
* What is a normal “viral load”?
* What does it mean to have an “undetectable” blood viral load?
* Is the viral load in the blood associated with a person’s risk of transmitting HIV?
* Does HIV treatment reduce the risk of sexual transmission of HIV?
* Is HIV transmission possible when the viral load in the blood is undetectable?
* What is the risk of HIV transmission when the blood viral load is undetectable?
* What does this all mean for people who want to use HIV treatment to prevent HIV transmission

The Body published an article from the Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange Project on all these questions and it is worth reading for those interested. Click here to read the article.

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Filed under: HIV and AIDS, HIV Prevention, HIV Treatment, Medical and Research, , , , , , , , , , , ,

07/09/2013 • 6:41 am Comments Off on The world in which we live..

The world in which we live..

NBC Nightly News broadcast

NBC Nightly News broadcast (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I am not sure that is common experience but I was always interested in putting my work and my immediate surroundings into the context of what happens around the world. And sometimes I feel overwhelmed from all the bad news coming via different news channels. But they touch me somehow and influence me in a way I am not sure I can define in a proper way.
Looking around me there is the big scandal of espionage – who ever thought Facebook is not safe now knows that there seems to be all stops pulled to gain access to all emails and chats. I never thought, that internet is safe, but knowing that there is a systematic approach to bend the law and obviously dismiss the freedom and privacy of ordinary citizens under the pretext of security brings this knowledge to a new level and is depressing.
Yesterday the pope visited the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa and urged help for desperate migrants who risk their lives getting there – I am impressed and a bit proud that humanity and a joyful approach to our faith is visible in our leadership. And it feels good that there is a sense of openness again within our church; there is a sense of being allowed to speak out freely and without fear – what a blessing.
Syria – how often have I experienced the hospitality of Syrian people and Egypt where a colleague of mine is stationed – the travesty of politics in both cases shows how little respect our political systems have when it comes to the Arabic spring and it’s people concerned.
From Europe there comes the news that two more people seems to have lost their infection after a bone-marrow transplant, these are some good news from overseas. Here in South Africa we watch with horror the ugly Mandela soap opera – where the fight about the inheritance already has begun before the great statement has even closed his eyes.

We cannot escape the world we live in, and I sometimes wonder, what kind of influence this world has in all the needy township communities, where also news and soap operas impact on the minds and hearts of people. How does it affect the people seeing the madness of the big world and of course of their small world – the glitter of high society life mirrored in South African but also US soap operas but also the obvious corruption of their politicians, the wealth of the few who made it out of poverty and now play big shots in politics and society without being too much concerned about the well-being of their fellow citizens.

Working as a priest and working with people living with the HI virus means working in a micro – environment. It is work on the very personal level of society. But I cannot help but continue to wonder how much the bigger scenario interacts with this very personal level and how the overwhelming flood of information through all kinds of media makes life and touching each others lives more difficult and challenging.

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Filed under: HIV and AIDS, Politics and Society, Reflection, Religion and Ethics, Society and living environment, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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