Woza Moya Project

Woza Moya — meaning "Come, Spirit" in Zulu — was founded in 2000 by Sue Hedden in one of KwaZulu-Natal's most remote and under-resourced rural communities: the Ufafa Valley near Ixopo, home to 30,000 people living across 10 villages in conditions of extreme poverty, with no electricity or sanitation in most dwellings, water collected from rivers, and the highest HIV prevalence rates in the region. It began as a response to that crisis — with no antiretrovirals available until 2004, the early work was almost entirely bereavement counselling, pain relief, and helping dying patients care for their children. When ARVs arrived, Woza Moya pivoted: from helping people die with dignity, to helping people live with health and hope.

Twenty-five years later, Woza Moya has become nationally recognised as a model for South African NGOs in community transformation and financial accountability, serving close to 10,000 people annually and receiving the 2026 Ixopo Mayoral Excellence Award. Their Director Sue Hedden has been succeeded by a skilled new leadership team, and the organisation continues to expand its work.

What They Offer Survivors and the Ufafa Valley Community

Community Care Givers (CCGs) — 35 Trained Village-Based Health Workers Woza Moya's 35 Community Care Givers are the heart of the organisation — local villagers, employed and trained by Woza Moya, visiting approximately 30 families each per month (1,140+ families total). CCGs provide home-based care, HIV treatment monitoring, GBV awareness and referral, first aid, bereavement counselling, education on government services and grants, and practical support for the most vulnerable households. Each CCG is equipped, uniformed, and supervised by a Programme Manager.

HIV and AIDS Support Groups (4 Groups, 350+ Members) Four monthly support groups for People Living with AIDS (PLWAs) meet in the outlying areas of the Ufafa Valley, facilitated by Woza Moya staff. Topics include ARV treatment literacy, HIV/TB co-infection, human rights, GBV, succession planning, and practical matters — creating community and breaking the isolation that makes both illness and violence worse.

Gender Justice Programme Woza Moya's Gender Justice Programme explicitly addresses GBV in the Ufafa Valley — running workshops for children, caregivers, and community members that encourage reflection, dialogue, and action. The programme promotes girls as active agents of community improvement, develops young people's social and emotional skills, and actively empowers women in the community and workplace.

Mobile Clinic — Monthly Health Access In partnership with the Department of Health, a monthly mobile clinic is hosted at Woza Moya — bringing medical staff, medication dispensing (as a CCMDD pickup point for chronic medicine), and HIV counselling and testing to 150 patients a month who would otherwise have to travel 20km to Ixopo town.

Early Childhood Development Centre Woza Moya's ECD Centre functions as the local model of excellence — providing training and resources to outlying smaller ECD centres and playgroups, and focusing specifically on children in their first 1,000 days of life, ensuring they receive the nutrition, attachment, and stimulation essential to healthy development.

Children Living with AIDS (CLWAS) Programme Approximately 60 children aged 4–18 who are HIV-positive meet quarterly at Woza Moya for a full day — facilitated by staff and CCGs to share their experiences, receive support, enjoy nutritious food, and access the centre's library, computer centre, and outdoor play areas.

Youth Development Youth development programmes build leadership, confidence, life skills, and agency among young people in the Ufafa Valley — including media and digital skills.

Paralegal Services Community members receive paralegal support — access to information about their rights, legal processes, and government services — an important resource in a rural area where formal legal access is extremely limited.

Food Security A soup kitchen and food security programmes ensure that community members — including grandmothers raising their late children's children — do not go hungry.

Woza Moya Crafts — Income Generation A crafts programme employs community members to produce handcrafted items — bags, cards, sock monkeys, beanies, scarves — sold through Woza Moya's partner network, including at the Buddhist Retreat Centre in Ixopo. Over 95% of beneficiaries are women, many of them breadwinners for their families.

TRE (Trauma Release Exercise) Programme In partnership with TRE for Africa, Woza Moya has trained community facilitators in Tension and Trauma Release Exercise — a somatic self-help tool for releasing stress and trauma from the body. In a community where unresolved trauma manifests as domestic violence, substance abuse, depression, and chronic illness, this programme addresses causes, not just symptoms.

Woza Moya is in the Ufafa Valley near Ixopo, KZN. Subscribe to their monthly newsletter at wozamoya.org.za. To donate from the UK (tax-deductible), donate via their UK arm at wozamoya.org.za/wozamoyauk.