Karibu- Welcome to the First Pan African Homoeopathic Congress
by Jeremy Sherr
This congress marks a unique and great moment in the history of Homoeopathy and of Africa.
Ten years ago there was not much homoeopathy to be found in Africa. Of course there were a few countries that had schools and practitioners, as in South Africa. But throughout most of the continent only a few homoeopaths could be found, here and there. Today those seeds have grown into young plants, and at the rate we are progressing homoeopathic medicine will soon flourish into giant Baobab trees.
Africa is ready for homoeopathy, and homoeopathy is right for Africa. We offer a medicine that is safe, effective, affordable and with no side effects. We offer a medicine that strikes a chord with local beliefs and knowledge; the knowledge that spirit and dreams are the forces behind human health and disease.
Africa is the last populated continent for homoeopathy to arrive at, our last frontier. And as in any frontier, the people who are practicing and teaching here are endowed with pioneering spirit, conviction and courage. Like most pioneers we are highly individualized, yet we have one heart that shares a common mission:
To treat as many patients as possible
To make homoeopathy available throughout all of Africa
To train local practitioners to the highest standards
To make our projects self sustainable
To show and prove to the world the miracle of homoeopathy
There are many challenges: Disease, suffering and poverty are rife here. Daily we witness the acute epidemics of Malaria, AIDS and typhoid in contrast to the developed world’s chronic maladies of diabetes, cancer, obesity and mental disease. Yet with the spread of modern life those too are arriving. It takes a group of united people to fight an epidemic. This congress was born from the need to form such a group, to share, to learn from each other’s successes and mistakes, to move forward as if one person. We have much to learn from each other about treating, educating and organizing.
It is a wonderful accomplishment that over 60 people have gathered here today, many coming from far away countries; From Swaziland and Ghana, from Tanzania, Botswana and South Africa, from Kenya and Malawi, Germany, Holland, France, Israel, England and the USA. We have been training homoeopaths in Benin, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Senegal and Madagascar. Let us hope that the next conference will bring friends from the Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Morocco, Namibia and every other African country.
Some of you have asked about our logo, why Africa is turned upside down. I say it is not turned upside down, it is the right way up, the way it was meant to be. From high above in space the world can be seen from any direction. Until now Africa was the forgotten continent, in the dark, at the bottom of the map. The African arrow now points to the sky. Homoeopathy is capable of turning things around, of making a change, of bringing light where there was once dark.
I congratulate all of you for making the difficult and long journey to arrive here today. May this be the first of many conferences, may we learn from each other and grow bonds of knowledge and friendship. Homoeopathy is spreading like bushfire. We are here, and we are here to stay.
The Kwale 4kenya School is certainly one of the most beautiful homoeopathic schools in the world. Welcome to Mombasa, welcome to our first conference. Hahnemann would be proud. We all have reason to be proud.