The Nyumbani Children's Home was founded by Father Angelo D'Agostino and Sister Mary Owens in 1992 to serve mostly abandoned children created by the AIDS pandemic.
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Background
Originally a medical doctor in the US Air Force, D'Agostino joined the Jesuits early in his career, focused on psychiatry, and held various teaching positions. But it was through his experience working with multiple Jesuit charities that D'Agostino learned of the dire need for specialized facilities for abandoned children in Nairobi, Kenya. Today over 100 orphans or abandoned children live at Nyumbani Home located in Karen, Nairobi.
In 1998, the recognition that there was a need to expand the basic initiative of Nyumbani Home to other locales which gave birth to the Lea Toto program. This is "a community-based outreach program providing services to HIV+ children and their families in the Kangemi, Waithaka, Kawangware, Riruta, Mutuini, Ruthimitu, Kibera and Kariobangi communities of Nairobi, Kenya."
Nyumbani Village
Based on past success, a related effort called Nyumbani Village was spawned to support both orphans and elders impacted by the AIDS pandemic. Located on 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) donated by the Kitui District County Council, Nyumbani Village is conceived to support between 1280-1600 individuals via a self-sustaining agricultural based venture. In September 2016, actress Danai Gurira presented a video feature about the village and the work being done in Africa as part of the 2016 Global Citizen Festival in New York City. The pharmaceuticals company, Johnson & Johnson, is a sponsoring partner via Global Citizen, in an outreach effort to promote social action and awareness.