2008 Woodie Awards
Fullfilling the Mission
Members of the Salve community reach out to children with AIDS in Africa
Kim Osborne & Elisabeth Steinhardt
Issue date: 9/28/05 Section: News
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After hearing the inspiring convocation address of Fr. Angelo D'Agostino, founder of the first AIDS orphanage in Africa, at last year's convocation ceremony, members of the Salve community felt compelled to get involved in the AIDS effort in Africa.
They accepted D'Agostino's invitation to visit the Nyumbani orphanage in Kenya.
"It's not like a visit to Disneyworld," said Dr. Anthony LoPresti, a religious studies professor at Salve and one of the four faculty members to take a weeklong, exploratory visit to Kenya this past summer.
In 2010, 20 million babies will be orphaned in Africa, over 23 million people in Africa alone have AIDS and Kenya has the third highest number of AIDS in the world.
There are over 25 million people in Africa who are HIV positive. Most of the people dying of the disease are between 20-50 years of age, leaving behind many children and elders.
Nyumbani, a hospice village for children suffering from AIDS, relies on its 70 staff members and 20 volunteers. The volunteers assist the children with bathing themselves, getting dressed, giving them their medicine "cocktails" twice a day and helping them survive from day to day.
Lopresti said that Nyumbani orphanage has 94 residents and is just one of D'Agostino's efforts to help children suffering in Africa. D'Agostino also reaches out to about 2000 children in the slums.
"They are sub-human living conditions," said LoPresti, who was saddened by what he saw while visiting the slums of Kenya. According to LoPresti he saw homes with no ceilings, walls or plumbing. He said that the environment is far from healthy, with no city services to provide proper disposal of trash, raw sewage and human wastes.
In spite of the horror that he witnessed while in Kenya, LoPresti said that beauty still exists among the poverty, sickness and death.
"The people there have a very strong spirit and very proud traditions," said LoPresti.
Although the people of Kenya have continued to keep their spirits high, the problem is still a devastating one. Many Africans cannot afford the drugs that people in other countries use to manage living with the disease.
The poverty and poor nutrition makes living with the disease more difficult for those in Africa. Without proper nutrition it is impossible for those who actually have access to the medicines to take them effectively.