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Kattor re bhaaji TGF readers' bulletin board
I returned after 21 days of South Africa and 4 days of
Mauritius tour yesterday.
In Durban, I did several things :
1.. At the XIII International AIDS Conference presented a 6 hours workshop on AIDS AND HOLISTIC HEALING at which Indian Ambassador and Indian Minister of Health, among others, were present. The manual on AIDS and Holistic Healing was published by the Conference organizers for distribution among the participants ran short because of more-than-expected response to my workshop.
2.. Participated in a Satellite Conference by India Caucus and spoke on From AIDS SCARE to AIDS CARE.
3.. Guided the African Traditional Healers in their day long deliberations.
4.. Participated in half a day panel discussion on Alternative Medicine at UNISA.
5.. Led a historic World Traditional Healers March which was reported widely both by electronic and print media.
6.. Participated in the Breakfast meeting organised by the Indian High Commissioner in SA at which some 200 Indian delegates, MPs, Indian Minister of Health, two other State Ministers were present.
7.. Participated in the Mayor's cocktails and dinner meeting. Since I am a teetotaller, I had only fruit cocktails!
8.. Had a meeting with the Conference Chair, Dr. Jerry Coovadia.
9.. Participated with the Sudanese Ambassadors of Hope in their deliberation on how religion can be used for dissemination of HIV/AIDS and family norms information.
10.. My poem AIDS NO MORE was used at a public function on 8th July where the Mayor of Durban and African Minister of Social Welfare, among others, were present.
11.. Was interviewed by the Radio, Press and Television. Photographs appeared in several papers. I have a clipping of one with me and personally viewed twice the SABC news.
12.. Participated in Poetry Reading session at a Museum complex. Enroute to the venue lost way and I halted some six pillion riding policemen, who kindly offered to drop me at the venue. While I read about foreigners being mugged in Durban & Johannesburg, I (maybe because of my dark brown complexion) merged with the locals very well. Many people even spoke to me in their local lingo and I had to tell them that I was from Bombay and had come here for AIDS conference.
12.. After the AIDS Conference, participated in another four days International Conference on Non Violence.
13.. My poem titled SHARING as also speech at the said Peace Conference were much appreciated.
14.. Ms Ela Gandhi, MP, grand daughter of Mahatma Gandhi, took me to show her grandfather's work in Phoenix, which she is now proudly carrying on.
After the two conferences, I went to Shakhaland (Zulu Land), Pretoria, Witbank (to treat AIDS patients), Johannesburg, Cape Town, Cape End and the Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 18 out of 27 years of jail term)
Then en route halted at Mauritius for four days and lectured there too.
Any luck from Unesco? If not Unesco, maybe you could write to some other international organizations like the Ford Foundation, or so many other rich American Charities. I would like to come to Senegal to be with you and your group and to heal people of Senegal suffering from HIV/AIDS. My message of HEALTH CARE IS SELF CARE will go down well with your people.
I met some African traditional healers from Prometra based in Senegal at the AIDS conference. But their knowledge and experience was limited and they knew pretty little of other traditonal and natural systems of medicine. Maybe, I could train them up too without hurting their ego.
Leo Rebello
August 2000