kwaMashu Congregational Church HIV Project

South Africa HIV/AIDS Project

UCCSA

The United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA), founded in 1967, has a strong established partnership with Global Ministries. There are 272 congregations with 235,900 members in the South Africa Synod.

South Africa is a ten-year old democracy that faces major obstacles to be financially stable after many years of apartheid. The national economic growth has not been strong enough to lower South Africa’s high unemployment rate, now at 37 percent. The country has not been able to successfully address the overwhelming poverty and lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups. Women and children are greatly affected.

In addition, the devastating growth of the HIV/AIDS pandemic has further caused South Africa to fall even deeper into crisis. This greatly impacts the quality of ministry and missions the UCCSA churches can provide to the people in their communities. The effort to restore, renew, and revitalize South Africa will require creative ideas, economic alternatives, and program development. The church is being called to respond to the needs of the South African people in new ways.

The kwaMasha Congregational Church’s local HIV and AIDS Ministry has begun a mission to extend its services to attend to the members of its congregation and community in Kwazulu-Natal Province who are infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS. This project, called the KwaMashu Congregational Church HIV Project, seeks to help prevent the spread of AIDS through education, while supporting the needs of the already-infected. Thirty people have already trained in AIDS prevention, and ten additionally are trained as support group facilitators. Through donations and outside support, the Project is able to promote campaigns, and facilitate fundraising events and workshops.

As it expands, the kwaMashu Congregational Church HIV Project seeks to reach an even greater number of community members. Currently, the program is in need of funding to help cover expenses for home visits, and money to purchase school uniforms for forty children whose parents have died of AIDS.