[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 14638]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NYUMBANI CHILDREN'S HOME

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of 
its founding, I would like to share a few remarks about the Nyumbani 
Children's Home.
  Marcelle and I have always enjoyed learning about and celebrating the 
continued growth and successes of Nyumbani. Those successes are because 
of the people who choose to dedicate their time, valuable skills, and 
scarce resources to a noble cause--that of saving and improving the 
lives of others.
  We have been particularly touched and moved by the stories of the 
children of Nyumbani. Despite confronting tremendous personal medical 
and social challenges, these young people have been nurtured, 
nourished, educated, and cared for in a safe and loving environment.
  These children have also benefited from advances in medical and 
therapeutic care that were unimaginable when this refuge was founded on 
September 8, 1992. To know that many of the children raised there have 
now grown into magnificent young people is a testament to the mission 
of this center.
  When the Nyumbani Children's home was founded, there was certainly no 
assurance that these results would necessarily follow. The inspired 
efforts of our friend, Father Angelo D'Agostino, or Father D'Ag, have 
led to these successes. Father D'Ag was a man of faith who combined an 
incredible work ethic with vision and an insatiable, indomitable will. 
He was a man whose friendship I cherished.
  Father D'Ag realized that the terror, stigma, and uncertainties 
associated with the transmission of the AIDS virus was responsible for 
a generation of orphans. Cruelly, AIDs also denied these children a 
home because Kenyan orphanages would turn them away out of fear and an 
inability to provide appropriate medical care, but Father D'Ag would 
not walk away.
  It began when Father D'Ag took on the care of three children who had 
been abandoned and were destined to die alone. From that modest 
beginning, the Nyumbani Children's Home became a forerunner in 
providing care to those affected by the scourge of HIV.
  In the decades since, Father D'Ag's vision has grown to encompass not 
only the original Children's Home, but also an advanced diagnostic 
laboratory, the unique Nyumbani Village, and an indispensable community 
outreach program that provides medical care to residents of distressed 
communities in Nairobi.
  As a doctor and Jesuit priest, Father D'Ag innately understood the 
principle that every life has value and dignity. His character and his 
knowledge compelled him to act when others stood paralyzed by fear and 
doubt.
  Sharing his compassion and conviction from the outset was Sister Mary 
Owens, Nyumbani's remarkable executive director since Father D'Ag's 
passing in 2006. Each of us is enormously thankful for the work of 
extraordinary people like Father D'Ag and Sister Mary. We are grateful 
for the many lives that have been saved and all that has been 
accomplished by Nyumbani over the past 25 years and look forward to 
success stories in the next 25 years.
  Nyumbani is a representation of what good can come when dedicated 
people cast aside fear and doubt, bring forward the true human spirit, 
and help those in need.
  (At the request of Mr. Schumer, the following statement was ordered 
to be printed in the Record.)

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