Game for the World in Umlazi, South Africa

When Milicent Phewa discovered that her local church in Umlazi, a township near Durban in South Africa’s province of KwaZulu-Natal, did not have an HIV/AIDS community support program, she decided to take matters into her own hands. Stigma and discrimination where Phewa lives have prevented many people from talking openly about their status, making it easy for community leaders to ignore the problem. Milicent took a course to learn how to develop an HIV/AIDS program and became the HIV/AIDS Coordinator for the Methodist Church of Southern Africa’s Natal Coastal District.  She believes that churches are ideal vehicles for providing HIV/AIDS programs because of the influence they have in their communities.

Milicent says that the Natal  Coastal district is large, stretching from Mozambique to just south of Durban. It’s challenging to visit all the rural areas. The district has many projects, including soup kitchens, orphanages, community gardens and home-based caregiving for people with HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

Milicent and her coordinators raise awareness about HIV/AIDS through marches on World AIDS Day,  providing workshops and voluntary testing and counseling. She plans to use Game for the World with youth groups to open up the conversation around HIV. Milicent is shown below with Anne and her church colleagues.

February 9, 2013