churchgoers are helping a community in South Africa tackle the Aids epidemic.

A new centre helping sufferers has opened in a poor rural parish near Mafeking, after years of work led by Kidlington vicar’s wife Kathryn Ellis to remove the shame surrounding Aids sufferers in the region.

Mrs Ellis, who is married to St Mary the Virgin rector Anthony Ellis, has led regular trips to Montshiwa to try to persuade fellow Christians to support victims and educate others to prevent the virus’s spread.

When the grandmother-of-three first visited in 2004, she found that despite huge infection rates and hundreds of deaths each year, the community would not discuss Aids openly because of the stigma associated with it.

Mrs Ellis, of Mill Street, Kidlington, said: “Incidences of Aids are very high, but they were all in denial. It was not talked about, even though there were funerals every weekend with more young people dying.

“They would not get past the shame surrounding Aids, and did not have any project at all to tackle the situation.”

Religious leaders across the tribal land would condemn sufferers as “evil doers” and accuse them of bringing disaster upon themselves through homosexuality or sex with prostitutes.

But with fellow Anglicans from Kidlington with Hampton Poyle parish, Mrs Ellis started to lead open discussion about Aids across the 400sq mile South African parish to encourage churches to recognise and respond to the problem.

Her years of education have now led Kidlington’s twin parish in South Africa to set up an Aids centre, which she opened in August.

In it, those with Aids are able to learn life skills and make money by selling craftwork, and receive counselling as they deal with their condition. A youth group also offers support to street children, teenagers, prisoners, and newly diagnosed sufferers. The centre has been named after Mrs Ellis’ Setwana name, Moitsheki.

Mrs Ellis, who visited with five other parishioners, said: “Our trips have had a significant impact. Coming regularly and talking about it has shown that we care.

“They now ask themselves what they should be doing about the issue if we are so concerned that we have come that far.”

She added: “We certainly have seen a big difference over the years to the point that there is now a centre where people are invited in to be given support, and we can work with young people to give them life skills.

“They are told their lives are not at an end, and given help for the future.”

The churchgoers also delivered 281 footballs, which had been bought after a fundraising drive in Kidlington, to poor children.