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Peter was a person with enormous charisma and charm and was loved and respected across a wide range of organisations and different sectors of society. He had a warmth and ease with all people, able to make an immediate connection with whomsoever he was communicating. A man of deep integrity and honesty, he was committed to ensuring that people living with HIV/AIDS were central to all aspects of AIDS work and his public presentations on living with HIV were an inspiration to all. These presentations not only challenged many people to become involved in HIV and AIDS work but they also offered hope and ongoing leadership in the PLHA community.
A librarian by training, he became involved in HIV/AIDS work in the early stages of the epidemic. He helped to establish the Township AIDS Project in the late 1980’s, worked as a senior AIDS counsellor in the Hillbrow AIDS programmes in the early 1990’s, and became the director of NAPWA in 1997. He developed and implemented many unique training programmes that are integral to the training of HIV and AIDS educators, trainers, counsellors and health professionals. Recently, he had been increasingly part of the international HIV and AIDS response, acting as a consultant to NGOs and development agencies in other African countries, North America, Asia and Europe.
In some ways it is difficult to capture the essence of Peter’s life and work because he was such a unique person and his work spanned so many aspects of the AIDS epidemic. Always prepared to speak his mind and be straightforward, he was prepared to challenge many of the taken for granted assumptions, held independent views and encouraged people to seek for different ways of approaching education, prevention and care.
Peter was deeply committed to combating HIV and AIDS related stigma, working with the GIPA programme, the Faces Project and GNP+ to bring PLHA voices and experiences to the fore. Widely consulted by embassies and HIV/AIDS project officers, he was respected for his breadth and depth of understanding of the social, political, economic and ideological aspects of the epidemic. Integral to the International AIDS conferences he ensured much of the success of the Durban 2000 International AIDS conference and he was the Community programme advisor for the Barcelona and Bangkok conferences.
Peter was a skilled trainer, facilitator and speaker. In this work he showed an astounding capacity to touch an audience, sharing with them his own HIV journey, warts and all. He was never afraid to say, “I am human, I don’t always look after myself as I should”, simultaneously allowing people to feel unjudged yet encouraged to do better. He retained a dignity and privacy about his personal life but was open about his sexuality, making a significant contribution to the lesbian and gay political movement.
Peter was an incredibly loyal friend and inspired loyalty in return. He often attributed his long survival with HIV to his friendship circle which spanned the globe. He touched many lives, able to transcend racial and political differences. He hated bigotry and intolerance and stood for a commitment to human rights, democracy, fairness, justice and compassion. He had a wonderful sense of humour and lived his own life with endless enthusiasm, confidence and hope and engaged everyone he met with his ability to find pleasure in small things. His life and legacy are an inspiration to all.
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