Nairobi — When you hear the word 'Nyumbani' most Swahili speakers would understand it to mean home, a place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household.
Additionally, a village is a clustered human settlement or community of different families or homes living on a piece of land.
But Nyumbani Village in Kitui County is a unique home that provides care for only orphans affected or infected with HIV/AIDS under 18 years who were either living with their grandparents or relatives.
In many cases where grandparents are still alive, they too are accommodated in the village.
It was established in 2006 by Father Angelo D'Agostino to help orphaned and abandoned HIV-positive children by ensuring they are raised in a safe and loving environment, with the respect and dignity they deserve.
The village provides a family-like setting for orphaned children under the stewardship of elderly adults and seeks to ensure that the children receive love, sustenance, health care, holistic education, and culture transfer, aiming at their physical, psychosocial, and spiritual development.
There are 655 children residing in the facility, all of whom receive care and treatment until they are able to support themselves.
The village contains homes placed in clusters, each containing four houses.
"What Motivated to begin the program is that the founder of the program Father Angelo D'Agostino wanted to help orphaned and abandoned HIV-positive children. He wanted to ensure that these children are raised in a safe and loving environment, with the respect and dignity they deserve," Sr Faith Kamau a Social Worker at the Nyumbani Village told Capital FM News.
These children in Nyumbani Village are from three counties Kitui, Machakos and Makueni.
They are rescued from the villages by the social workers at Nyumbani Village with the goal of ensuring that no child infected or affected and is in need is left behind in the community to suffer.
Sr. Kamau said 26 clusters totaling 100 homes existed prior to the Covid-19 pandemic that hit the nation in 2021.
But as a result of the pandemic, there are currently 72 homes due to the number of donors funding the program decreasing.
"We have houses and that is why we call it 'Nyumbani' whereby we have different homes within the village. Four houses make one cluster. We now have only 72 homes due to Covid-19 having 12 children maximum and a minimum of seven who can occupy the houses," she said.
The village has several departments like a police post for security of the children, the care department and a clinic or dispensary for ensuring the children and the grandparents- are treated when sick.
"Ahead of me is a field where we have primary school, secondary school and a polytechnic school where our children schools. We have a police post also a guest house and all these is meant to support our children," she said.
The Village also has built greenhouses to grow vegetables, maize, and other crops for the children in order to maintain the sustainability of the environment.
They practice agroforestry to improve sustainability in efforts to mitigate the local effects of climate change.
Other than education, the children also take part in several activities like co-curriculum, sports, music and community work.
Sr Kamau says the program is mostly funded by individual donors, the church and the community in providing food stuffs, clothes and toiletries.
With the growing number of children, she calls for increased assistance with sanitary pads and food supplies.
"If someone wants to donate, they can reach us by getting our contact from our website and we will direct them on how the donations will reach us," she said.
As of December 2023, the National Syndemic Disease Control Council(NSDCC) reports that a total of 1,377,784 Kenyans are living with HIV with 57 percent coming from 10 counties, namely; Kisumu (128,091), Nairobi (124,609), Homa Bay (120,600), Siaya (96,297), Migori (76,053), Nakuru (57,635), Mombasa (50,656), Kakamega (48,733), Kiambu (45,917) and Kisii (42,210).
The report further reveals that between 2013 and 2022, there has been a substantial decline (68 percent) of AIDS-related deaths, attributed to the availability and access of ARVs from 58,446 to 18,743.
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Ministry of Health reported that a challenge of high Mother-To-Child Transmission rates at 8.6% remains.
While treatment coverage for children living with HIV stands at 85%, only about 74% of them achieve viral suppression.
The Ministry also says that Kenya has adopted the WHO-recommended three-test algorithm for HIV diagnosis, enhancing diagnostic precision.
Principal Secretary for Medical Services, Harry Kimtai said despite recent challenges questioning the quality of HIV testing services, the ministry reaffirms its unwavering commitment to upholding the highest standards.
"Additionally, Kenya remains steadfast in its fight against HIV/AIDS, ranking 7th globally for its HIV epidemic. With approximately 1.4 million individuals living with HIV (PLHIV), the country persists in delivering comprehensive care and preventive measures," Kimtai said.
As of December 2023, over 1.3 million People Living with HIV (PLHIV) were under treatment across 3,752 facilities nationwide.
Kenya Annually conducts more than 8 million HIV tests across 8,851 testing sites, demonstrating the nation's commitment to standardized and accessible testing services.
