God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

It is always a delight when a laptop is starting to refuse working – especially when one is short before going on travel and there is a need to have this instrument of work with in the luggage. Well, lets hope that the technicians can find the mistake before leaving – at least there is a place in Cape Town where one can bring his computer for repair..

This morning a chat with all Hope Community Health worker of HOPE Cape Town – once in a while it is indeed necessary to bring some basics back into the mindset of the people. They are good and most really try very hard to perform as required. Sometimes I forget, that most of them never had a regular job before being employed by HOPE Cape Town – so lots of basic education is also needed besides all the HIV and TB training. Amongst others there is also computer training as most clinics start to work with computers and most libraries in the different township communities have computers and internet. We are thrilled to work together with the Bavarian Staatskanzlei, InWent and the Missionsaerztliche Institut in Würzburg / Germany on E-learning which means to get all the input also in digital form, so that at an ideal scenario, people can log themselves into the program from their own computer or the available computer and learn by themselves – still in a controlled way.  Digital revolution also in our sector, slowly but surely.

I reminded our HOPE Community Health Workers this morning that besides a decent salary the training and education is the most beneficial asset for them – it is not for no reasons, that most of our HOPE Community Health Workers who left us were offered good positions within the respective clinics because they were very well-trained.
I guess that this is one of the most problematic topics in South Africa, the lack of proper education. Lets face it: Bringing the previous disadvantage into good positions with BEE is a great idea, but without the proper training it can develop into a nightmare. South Africa has surely taken a big share on these nightmares. Proper education takes time, and that is unfortunately something, politics lacks in this point. People wanted to see an immediate change after the first free elections in 1994. One consequence of the lack of time is surely that the quality of training and education has suffered. And when one listens to people in the educational sector, one hears again and again that the qualification levels have been lowered to accommodate the quota.

I believe that we at HOPE Cape Town have a good mix of people from different backgrounds and as long as I was part of the interviewing process, skin color never played a role. Attitude and the will to learn and achieve something in life, an open mind and a good heart is what brings people to the point, where they can climb the career ladder.

Filed under: HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, Reflection, BEE, education, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, south africa, training