To remind people of the global AIDS epidemic, Stillwater United Methodist Church, 6911 Frederick Pike, Dayton, is hosting a well-traveled exhibit produced by the AIDS relief organization, World Vision.

The exhibit, called The World Vision Experience: AIDS, opened on World AIDS Day, Monday, Dec. 1. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the observance.

"World AIDS Day is recognized all over the world to draw attention to the pandemic of AIDS," said John Goretta, Stillwater's director of music and arts. "A lot of people probably think the AIDS crisis is over or on the decline. The facts speak otherwise."

The exhibit is an interactive, multimedia diorama that transports visitors into the heart of Africa. It allows people to step into the lives of actual children affected by HIV and AIDS.

"We're hosting this because we're in the fight against AIDS," Goretta said. "We've been following the crisis for a couple of years and the World Vision Experience kind of brings it all home."

Visitors to the 2,340-square-foot exhibit walk through a replica of an African village while listening to the stories of children afflicted with AIDS. The narratives are based on actual accounts of four children who were touched by the work of World Vision. Goretta said mounting the exhibit was a churchwide project.

"It took hundreds of volunteers," he said. "We've been in the planning process for the last five months and it's something the entire church has to come together to support."

Nationally, the Human Rights Campaign — the nation's largest gay civil rights group — have called for a renewed focus on HIV/AIDS policy at the federal level.

"Far too many across the world are still suffering from this terrible and preventable disease," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese in a statement released Monday. "It is time for a coordinated federal response to preventing and treating HIV/AIDS as well as programs designed to lower HIV incidence, increase access to HIV care, and reduce racial disparities."

Stillwater's World Vision Experience: AIDS is free and open to the community. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today, Dec. 2, through Saturday, Dec. 6, and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7. For more, call, (937) 454-9405 or visit www.stillwaterumc.org.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2167 or

kmoss@DaytonDailyNews.com