HIV and AIDS casts a dark shadow over the whole African continent, and South Africa has the highest number of cases in the world. In the midst of the AIDS pandemic, Project Positive Ray is making a difference by offering help and hope to thousands of Zulu villagers.
Positive Ray is a church based agency, established to mobilize and motivate the church to participate in a programme of action to address the HIV and AIDS crisis in the Ugu district of KwaZulu Natal. Positive Rays objectives are to promote healthy behavior, to increase Voluntary Counselling and Testing uptake and to improve quality of life for people living with HIV and AIDS.
A partnership of the Evangelical Church in South Africa, SIM's HOPE for AIDS, the Two Tunics organisation, and churches in the UGU region in Southern KwaZulu Natal, Postitve Ray focuses on: 
- education and prevention, and
- home-based care.
One way Positive Ray is spreading the prevention message is by placing teachers in the local schools to teach about HIV and AIDS.
In addition to voluntary testing and counselling, Positive Ray has a Biblical foundation to their prevention efforts. The project offers a Bible study course called 'HIV and AIDS—Purity and Sexuality' which helps lay a foundation for holy living. Many people also receive Bibles when they come for testing and counselling.
Home-based care visits show Christ's mercy to the sick and suffering. Many times the volunteers bring food parcels to the homes of people who are too poor to buy food and too sick to grow their own. They also offer financial help for funerals.
'Positive Ray, on behalf of the church family is making critical interventions to help reduce/control the AIDS epidemic,' Clement Joseph, the director of Project Positive Ray, says. 'We need your prayers as well as moral and financial support to win the battle against HIV and AIDS.'
