A Letter from Africa

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Dear friends,

I am writing this letter from Tanzania, Africa. It is hot today, about 38°C, but the morning was cool and clear, and fresh snow lies on the slopes of Kilimanjaro. As usual there is neither water nor electricity, but you get used to it.

At the clinic this morning we had a syphilis case. Not the theoretical syphilis miasm, but a woman with large ulcers on her legs, each about 5–7 cm in size and extremely painful. She described it as “hell on earth” and said it was even worse than AIDS. The ulcers began 18 years ago when she became infected with syphilis. They discharged pus and blood, which were quickly suppressed with an unknown medicine. The pain and the ulcers then spread to the legs and became entrenched there. The pungent rotten smell of the ulcers filled the whole room – we had to hold our noses. I thought of Kent, who speaks of the mercurius smells that every doctor used to smell in those days. I never thought I would be confronted with this – but here in Africa there is everything: AIDS, syphilis, leprosy, scrofula, tuberculosis... But I want to start at the beginning.

I moved to Tanzania on 17 November 2008. Three months later Camilla followed with our three small children. This was the beginning of a new chapter in our lives, our mission to treat AIDS in Africa with classical homeopathy. At that time we did not yet know where we would live, how we would open new clinics or what obstacles would stand in our way. In many ways we were naive, but that was probably a good thing.

Our journey actually began ten years earlier, because I had dreamed for years of doing precisely this. After my studies I taught at the Dynamis school the homeopathic treatment of epidemics and miasms. Yet I was well aware that this knowledge was mainly theoretical. After gaining experience with many smaller epidemics such as childhood diseases and influenza, I wanted to face the challenge professionally of treating a large group with a collective suffering – namely a miasm (§ 103).
Even more important to me was that I had already treated several AIDS cases in the West and seen what can be achieved with homeopathy. Homeopathic treatment is particularly promising in AIDS because it strengthens the immune system. An estimated 28 million people suffer from this disease in Africa, and my wife and I felt it both our duty and our privilege to do everything in our power to help. I was – like my parents and grandparents – born in Africa, so it felt like a return home.

My original plan was to concentrate entirely on research. I wanted to initiate “airtight”, ethically based research that would show the world what homeopathy can achieve in AIDS. My colleague Tina Quirk and I spent ten years writing protocols, looking for potential academic partners and applying for funding. Unfortunately the sole result of our efforts was recurring disappointment. We found that there was plenty of money for AIDS and Africa, but none for homeopathy. From Bill Gates to UNESCO, from VIPs to charities – everywhere the answer was: “Unfortunately we are not available right now, and best leave us alone!” Even homeopathic research organisations prefer to pick “more interesting” projects. Eventually we realised that it was time to stand up and do something – with or without funding or research opportunities. So we did. Luckily I have a steadfast homeopathic comrade in my wife.

Two years later: we have no regrets! It has been a fantastic journey of fulfilment, miracles, frustrations, obstacles, politics, conflict and discoveries that ultimately led to success. Today we have ten rural clinics; we have treated 1,200 patients and I work in the local hospital. Patients flock to our clinics wanting more homeopathy; the doctors ask us what we are doing. We know AIDS in Africa now as well as a good friend and have been able to specify and improve the treatment. In fact, treating AIDS with classical homeopathy is almost the easier part of our life today, and the miraculous healings do not become fewer over time. Our success rate is between 90 and 95%.

We are often asked by homeopaths why African patients respond so well to homeopathic treatment. Surprisingly, positive treatment results are achieved much faster than in the West. After 1–2 weeks most patients record an improvement in all symptoms; they have more energy and a better appetite; they gain weight, and their faces show a radiant smile.

Malaria cases usually improve in one or two days. We have no explanation for this. People here may be more connected to their energy, to the earth and to their bodies; perhaps there have been fewer generations before them exposed to allopathic suppression (although this certainly exists nowadays), or it may be due to our Western “over-intellectual” homeopaths and patients who can be an obstacle to rapid recovery. In any case, in Africa we achieve fast and gentle results with homeopathic remedies and these effects last at least two years. Our satisfaction and perseverance are fed by this source.
Patients in Africa seem to respond to a wide variety of remedies. This yields a large spectrum of homeopathic approaches, from classical homeopathy to combination remedies, unproved remedies and radionics – everything seems to help. We have seen all of this in the West too, but the phenomenon that “the first remedy helps best” is much more evident here. Although some inexperienced aid workers were involved in the project, they worked well with us.

The main challenges, however, are: continuing a case to a second and third prescription and finding the remedies that penetrate deeply into the core problem of the epidemic: to seek the roots and not only treat the branches. We try to penetrate the collective sensation of the disease. There are many remedies that set off an immediate healing impulse; but the more precisely the remedy is chosen, the deeper its effect and the longer it lasts – and the better we can understand what is really going on here.

One might ask why we insist on classical homeopathy when there are other “methods” with which AIDS in Africa can be treated successfully. Primarily because it is particularly efficient. Undoubtedly other methods also achieve good results, but we are classical homeopaths. This is our path, chosen for philosophical and practical reasons. We want to test and understand remedies. We want to perceive the disease and prescribe our remedies individually. We do not only wish to potentise our remedies but also to potentise our perception, to learn, to grow and to follow our individual journey towards a greater whole. Classical homeopathy is not merely a therapy. It is not only the prescription of potentised remedies. It is a way of life.
That is our personal decision. We respect anyone who comes here and helps people with natural or potentised remedies. Heaven knows we need more than one person or one method that can help. We have excellent links with several projects in Africa, including Dar es Salaam in south-east Tanzania, Swaziland, Kenya, Ghana, Botswana and South Africa. We support one another: we are a family with a common mission.

At the clinic

You asked about our daily routine. Usually we first have to look for our translator Roger, the Rasta, all over town, then we make the rounds to our various clinics; some in the slums, others in the countryside. We take our medicine box, unpack it there and then sit under a tree or in a tiny, hot “sauna clinic”, or we visit patients at home if they are too ill to come to us. The driving is a problem. At the moment we only have one car, so our driver has to spend almost the whole day driving between clinics, house visits and transporting pupils.

Although our house is comfortably equipped, we had to get used to long periods without electricity and water. We must live with mosquito bites; there is no choice. From time to time I go to the West to treat patients, teach or raise funds for our project, but most of the time we are here all the time. Camilla has hardly ever been away since we have been here and has built many clinics and treated many patients. She works in the slums and makes home visits; I go to the more distant villages or to the hospital.
Some volunteer helpers came for two‑week internships or helped for several months in the clinic. They were accommodated in our “Hahnemann Five-Star Hotel”. Our children go to the international school and enjoy the many new experiences. The biggest obstacles to our project are the lack of financial support, bureaucracy, allopathic enemies and the local population, who consider it their duty to relieve us of all the money we possess. To them we are all Bill Gates and they are experts at getting money from the “mazungu” (the whites). There is no avoiding it.

Opening a clinic here is not a problem, because there is no reduction in AIDS cases. Our successes have spread far and wide and the village leaders constantly inquire about the many PLWHA (people living with HIV / AIDS) from their region. Doctors and hospitals respond with surprise and interest. For the volunteers, short visits to us certainly have an educational effect, but to advance the project we need helpers who can work long‑term. We have to expand our infrastructure. That means we have to raise funds and take care of organisation; both are things I can do, but do not particularly like doing. We have started training Tanzanians here on site; two students are even doing a full-time course in homeopathy.

The cases we have here are very different from those we were used to. There are no modalities, no strange, rare and peculiar symptoms and hardly any emotional symptoms. The main emotional symptoms are the recurring themes: “I am hungry!”, “I have no money to buy food!”, “I cannot pay the school fees!” and “What will happen to the children when I die?”. This is everyday tragedy. We agree that after so many years dealing with overly emotionally charged cases, working with cases that are not emotionally burdened is very relieving. These cases are at once simple and difficult, uncomplicated and problematic; they are one-sided and can hardly be fathomed without two God-given aids: the first is the discovery of the genius epidemicus, which I will report on later, the other is dreams.

Whenever we ask patients about their dreams, a smile of satisfaction and recognition spreads across their faces. “This doctor knows where to look!” Africa lives in a dream. Its roots lie in the dark world of secrets and magic. By interpreting dreams and connecting them with our holistic understanding we can unlock cases and find the remedy. Meanwhile we can simply diagnose from the dreams whether a patient is HIV‑positive or whether they are on ARVs (antiretroviral medication for treating HIV).

Our system is based on the Bönninghausen method. We take the large general rubrics to get an overview, then we pick the “raisins out of the cake” to individualise the remedy. We are pleased to have my “Repertory of Mental Qualities”, a repertory of mental‑emotional themes in the Bönninghausen style. We use rubrics such as “money”, “sacrifice”, “water” or “snakes” on a real, everyday basis. Another piece of software I developed, “The Dynamic Case Taker” (the “Dynamic Case History”), is also extremely helpful in finding, collecting, storing and sharing cases.

You asked which potency we use. In 90% of our working time we give C12 daily. There are several reasons for this. AIDS is a serious disease and many healing obstacles have to be overcome. The population would not understand if we only gave a single dose; worse – they might take it for magic. Also, we do not have that many medicines; therefore we find it best to have one potency of each remedy in stock. Some homeopathic pharmacies were kind enough to donate remedies: Helios in the UK, Cemon in Italy, Neot Shoshanim in Israel, Hahnemann Labs and Hylands in the USA.

Poverty leads to AIDS and AIDS leads to poverty. This is part of its psoric roots. Most of the patients we see are widows. Due to poverty and lack of resources the men travel to work in distant towns and stay there for half a year to a year. There they sleep with prostitutes, mostly young girls who “work” to survive. When they come home at Christmas they infect two or three women at home. Men rarely go for an AIDS test because AIDS is a deadly stigma. They would rather die than let others know they have AIDS. When the husband dies, everyone knows his wife is infected, and then of course “it is her fault”. The husband’s family takes all her possessions and claims she has the evil eye. She is left alone with four children, two of whom may be HIV‑positive, without a house, without income and too weak to work. These AIDS widows are our patients.

In this situation energy is the key to survival. If a woman is too weakened by the disease she cannot work in the field, because that is hot and heavy work. The consequence is that mother and child either die or are dependent on the mercy of one of the many corrupt orphanages. So when patients return after a week with “much more energy”, it is life‑saving.

Once the women are well enough to work again there remains the problem of where to leave the children. Because of the stigma no one helps them; the extended family, which has functioned for millennia, has been shaken to its foundations. When Camilla made a house visit and found a three‑year‑old looking after a one‑year‑old, she decided to set up a day‑care centre in our clinic for the children of AIDS widows. We now have twenty‑five children here who receive two good meals daily and an education that would otherwise never be available to them. We also run nutrition courses and procure free glasses when needed, donated by Western homeopaths. Homeopathy must first remove the healing obstacles, otherwise the cure cannot be lasting.

Children's centre

I would like to make it clear that for various reasons one cannot claim to have cured AIDS. First of all, there is no such terminology in conventional medicine; it simply does not exist. I might assume that a patient who has been symptom‑ and virus‑free for five years is demonstrably cured. But in most cases we have at most two‑year follow‑ups, and if a patient has remained symptom‑free for that long, it only counts as a single case.

The usual standard test for AIDS is the CD4 count test, which examines the amount of T‑lymphocytes in the blood to determine the strength of the immune system(1). We consider this test to be a relatively weak indicator – a view we share with many allopathic doctors. It is not only inaccurate, but it shows exclusively the number of CD4 cells, not their quality. Often the CD4 count falls after a well‑chosen remedy, although patients report that they feel much better. A few months later it begins to rise, and after three to twelve months an incredible rise in CD4 cells often becomes evident. I often explain pictorially that CD4 cells are like soldiers. The test counts the number of soldiers but cannot say how many of them have no arms or legs, i.e. are not fit for duty. In response to the homeopathic remedy the diseased cells die off while the healthy ones slowly recover and multiply.

While AIDS patients in the West undergo a CD4 test once a month, among the people in the villages where we work this usually occurs only once or twice a year. The hospital is far away, transport is expensive, and even when they are tested the results are often not written down in the clinic. Patients almost always forget to bring their test results to us. To collect data correctly one would have to work in a hospital. The good news is that after two years of fighting for the necessary permissions I now work in a hospital! So – the possibilities are there, but time passes slowly in Africa and one needs a lot of patience.

The HIV viral load test is something else. It seems to respond well and efficiently, but we cannot be sure. The viral load test is very expensive, about $80. Hospitals and municipalities cannot afford it and so it is carried out only very rarely (in the West most AIDS patients regularly have viral load tests). In the few cases where our patients have had a viral load test, many had the surprising result “no virus found”. That is quite astonishing and the doctors were baffled. Normally this is interpreted as the virus being undetectable and hiding in the bone marrow, brain or liver. Nevertheless these results could provide conclusive evidence in the long term. I wish we could include these tests in our data collection and research, but without funds for long‑term research there is little we can prove. Single cases impress no one.

In research one must be able to present data. There are some smaller homeopathic AIDS studies, but these are disqualified by the industry as poorly planned and therefore meaningless. No research results, no money; no money, no serious research. That is the “dilemma” of homeopathic research. The real reason, however, is that most institutions are afraid of associating with homeopathy. Even if we had money, we would first need ethical approval. This can take up to two years, and we would of course have to find an academic partner. One must also be cautious and not reveal plans too early, because the enemies of homeopathy will try to sabotage any kind of research.

Nevertheless not everything looks bleak. I work with other African projects on AIDS research, and these are making progress. Research will flourish and the success of homeopathy will be proven; it is only terribly slow. I have come to the conclusion that research is not the most important thing to convince the world of homeopathy – it is the media; but we are fighting on all fronts.

My personal research focuses on the search for the “genius epidemicus” and its effortless application across Africa. It would be sensible to develop a new AIDS remedy. Sometimes I imagine a combination remedy, or a precisely matching single remedy. I am convinced it would be very efficient and easier to apply. I would be lying if I claimed I had never dreamt of such a thing – but that neither follows the spirit of homeopathy nor the teaching of treating epidemics with homeopathy. When collecting data we must not forget the many individual expressions. Therefore a genius can never be a single remedy. An epidemic is a collective totality that may derive from one source but consists of various individual disease histories. Hence Hahnemann advises having several remedies ready for each epidemic and using them according to time and place. Here an interesting phenomenon emerges: remedies often vary from village to village.

My vision is to create a basic, simple repertory and to produce a set of remedies that can be distributed and whose use can be easily taught in local health centres. This requires careful preliminary investigation because we want to avoid hasty activities. We have now found about 20 remedies that fit the local AIDS genius. Whether they work in other regions and other countries remains to be seen. We believe in information freedom and transparency. I intend to publish a complete list of the remedies later this year, as I trust this will be a good start. To achieve this I must work in the hospital for a while longer, because here the number, intensity and severity of cases are greater, and because we have access to the tests. On this joyful occasion I will attach another article with a preliminary list of remedies.

The remedies are mainly psoric and tuberculinic, as befits the AIDS miasm. These include some classical polycrests, some newly proved remedies and some unusual remedies we have encountered on the way. The list also contains some remedies I have proved myself, which I may have chosen because of my knowledge and preferences or to which I was led by providence. We also often use remedies newly proved by others, such as Ozone and the AIDS nosode.

We have discovered that AIDS is interestingly tending to be a neurological disease. Early symptoms are often herpes zoster, followed by numbness and sometimes dementia. This is not generally known, but it was confirmed to me by one of the top AIDS advisers in the region. Also interesting is the association with fungal diseases. It seems to me that this epidemic thrives on a fungal infection; therefore we have often had recourse to the remedy I proved, Cryptococcus neoformans. But that is a wide field; I will return to it later.

You must know that the course of AIDS has changed over time. Twenty years ago death came quickly: after six months to two years. Pneumonias ended fatally, cancerous tumours and fungi spread rapidly and the body wasted to the skeleton. Of course that still occurs today, but now it goes much more slowly. What was acute has become chronic. Intervention with ARVs (antiretroviral medication) has changed the game. Patients live longer and can survive for years, provided they have enough to eat. Thus the epidemic quickly evolves into a miasm.

Let us talk about ARVs (antiretroviral medications). As you know, we do not take on patients who are treated with ARVs. We treat only patients who receive no conventional medical treatment. There is a danger that the viruses will mutate quickly if ARVs are discontinued, and that is the problem. There is no doubt that ARVs prolong the lives of PLWHA (people living with HIV / AIDS). I have heard that some people in the USA feel so safe with them that they hold “AIDS parties” where one can voluntarily acquire AIDS; apparently it is easier to live with AIDS than without. This phenomenon is now also appearing in South Africa after the announcement of various allopathic “miracle cures” that still have to be invented. While patients in the West have access to 15 or more antiretroviral drugs, here there are at most two. Once these cease to help, which sooner or later usually occurs, there is nothing more that can be done and treatment failure and ultimately death follow.

Furthermore there are problems with side effects. I have heard that patients in the West describe them as “hell”. I have seen patients vomit every time they took a dose of antiretroviral medication. Here in Africa patients do not have the privilege of complaining, yet they suffer. The side effects weaken the patients more and more: numbness so severe that they cannot feel their arms and legs, intense itching, progressive weakness or terrible nightmares.

The main problem, however, lies in resistance: “Ten years ago between 1 and 5 percent of HIV patients worldwide had resistant strains. Today already between 5 and 30 percent of new patients are resistant to the drugs. In Europe it is 10 percent; in the USA 15 percent” (2) This virus is very intelligent and very dynamic. It adapts quickly, especially when irregularities in taking the medication occur, and that is almost always the case here in Africa. The virus is then transmitted in its new mutated form, so that we long-term have a problem just waiting to escalate. Added to this is the fact that African hospitals often have chaotic conditions: misdiagnoses and incorrect prescriptions are daily occurrences.

So far ARVs are free. But the budget for Africa from the West has fallen by 25–50% since the recession and the big pharmaceutical companies give nothing away. When the money runs out the virus can mutate at will and spread rampantly.

There is no doubt that antiretroviral medications can prolong life. It is one of the most astonishing things I have discovered how “homeopathic” they are in their effects, similar to many other conventional drugs. They are capable of imitating many of the epidemic symptoms: numbness, weakness, black tongue, visual disturbances, loss of appetite, fever etc.

Jeremy

Not all patients take ARVs. Some refuse such medicines, others avoid clinics because of stigma, and many have a CD4 count too high to justify taking such drugs. If you want to know more about these issues I recommend Stephanie Nolan’s “28 Stories about AIDS in Africa”. She is somewhat too ARV‑faithful, but it is a very informative read. You can also watch the film “House of Numbers”, which shows that there is no consensus about what this disease actually is.

We live here on very little, just enough to get from one month to the next. Most funds come from our own savings and from the wonderful homeopaths and patients who help with what they can give – thank you dear friends! So far there is no money from the “rich”, and it is unlikely that any will come. A single wealthy donor could solve all our problems, because we do not need a huge budget. Money for research, a school, improving infrastructure. So, if you know someone who is rich, please speak to them. Every penny helps us.
Next week “Homoeopathy For Health in Africa” is participating in the Kilimanjaro Marathon. Only the five‑kilometre version. We have ten people on our team running in our T‑shirts and a lot of goodwill. People often ask me whether I intend to climb Kili – I do not! It is too cold and too high! But when I see it every morning it reminds me that we have a bigger mountain to climb. Our mission is:

• To treat as many AIDS patients as possible with classical homeopathy.
• To create a self‑sustaining infrastructure for homeopathy in Africa.
• To find the genius epidemicus for AIDS.
• To spread our knowledge and the practice of homeopathy across Africa.
• To prove the effect of homeopathy around the world.

Hey – we do not want to take on too much! But we are on our way!

It is a shame that the governments of developing countries do not promote homeopathy more. It is the perfect medicine for developing countries and the perfect medicine against AIDS: no side effects, inexpensive and above all incredibly effective. AIDS, however, is big business in Africa and nobody likes people meddling in a big business. Nevertheless I am sure we will win. Homeopathy will continue to flourish when our enemies have long disappeared from the scene. People love homeopathy because it fits their spiritual orientation and way of life.

I have included some cases to show you our work. If you are on the internet, take a look at our film and slideshow at www.homeopathyforhealthinafrica.org. Turn the volume up for the slideshow; your children will love the song!

Many people are surprised when they see the map of Africa turned upside down. Some even turn their heads. But as you and I know, nothing is really upside down when viewed from space; it is just a prejudice. Through this discrimination Africa has always been placed at the very bottom of our picture of the world.

Camilla once said: “It is like a man who has gangrene in his leg and thinks he is healthy because his head is all right.” With this logo we want to show that homeopathy can change things and reverse the pathological order of today’s world. In any case it suits Feng Shui much better to point the arrow upwards rather than downwards!

But I have written far too much already... Now I wish you all the best for your work and your future life.

Long live homeopathy!

Your friend

Jeremy

(1) HIV multiplies particularly in CD4 cells, so that during the course of an infection the number of CD4 cells steadily declines.

(2) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34624393/ns/health-aids/?ns=health-aids, by Margie Mason and Martha Mendoza.

Photos: Jeremy Sherr, Wendy Pollock, Tina Quirk
Categories: General
Keywords: Africa, HIV, AIDS
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