"This study examined the use of a locally developed storytelling prompt as an alternative medium for HIV and AIDS awareness and prevention messages among rural university students in Limpopo Province, South Africa. An assessment of first-year students’ (n=21) response to a storytelling stimulus with local and familiar content shows a high uptake of the content messages in six persuasive narrative mediators: recall, narrative interest, absorption, identification with the main character, intention to commit to at least one health behaviour and self-efficacy. There were statistically significant correlations between narrative interest and recall, as well as between absorption and intention to commit to at least one health behaviour. Within the narrative theory framework, I argue for differentiated and culturally sensitive strategies and modes on HIV and AIDS communication to broaden the scope of focus to marginal areas where educational entertainment (EE) programmes may be inaccessible and ineffective. Finally, I discuss opportunities for further research that assess the effectiveness of local stories on a larger scale." (Abstract)