Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Los Angeles Times - November 22, 2006
Mary Rourke
The Rev. D'Agostino died Monday of a heart attack after being hospitalized at Karen Hospital in Nairobi, according to Erin Melendy, administrator for Nyumbani's U.S. Board of Directors.
Nyumbani, which means "home" in Swahili, was founded in 1992 in a rented house with three orphaned children in residence.
He had been serving on the board of a local orphanage that received large numbers of HIV-infected children but was not equipped to take care of them.
"I suggested that a special facility be made available because of their needs," he wrote in a biographic essay posted on the Nyumbani Web site, www.nyumbani.org. Most board members, however, did not agree with him, and he established Nyumbani soon afterward.
The 5-acre complex includes a health clinic, a medical laboratory, a school, and a cemetery for the young residents who die of AIDS.
The orphanage can accommodate up to 100 children. Currently the youngest is 6 months old; the oldest is 24, Melendy said. The staff of about 76 includes nurses, teachers, cooks and gardeners.
In 1998, as an outreach of the orphanage, the Rev. D'Agostino launched a community service program that supplies medicine, clothing and other necessities to HIV-infected children who live in the area.
His latest project, Nyumbani Village, in Kitui, Kenya, will open within a few weeks, Melendy said. It is a residence for the elderly and their grandchildren.
The AIDS epidemic in Africa has all but wiped out the middle generation of adults who traditionally would take care of both their older parents and their children, Melendy said. Nyumbani Village allows the older and younger family generations to stay together.
The Rev. D'Agostino once sued the government of Kenya when children of Nyumbani were turned away by some local public schools because they tested positive for HIV.
The judge ruled in the Rev. D'Agostino's favor in January 2004, guaranteeing that children with HIV are allowed to attend government schools.
Born Jan. 26, 1926, in Providence, R.I., the Rev. D'Agostino planned for a career in medicine. He graduated from medical school at Tufts University in Boston.
He joined the Air Force in 1953 and served as chief of urology at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C.
After completing military service in 1955, he joined the Jesuit order and also studied psychiatry. He trained at the Psychoanalytic Institute in Washington from 1962 to 1967. He was ordained a priest in 1966.
Before settling in Kenya, the Rev. D'Agostino taught psychiatry for several years at Georgetown University and was chief of inpatient service at George Washington University Hospital.
His first job in Africa was as coordinator of a Jesuit Refugee Service Center in 1981. He had a private practice in psychiatry and psychoanalysis in Nairobi from 1987 until 1990.
When he retired in September, he left Nyumbani with a separate board of directors in Italy, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States. The orphanage is funded primarily by private contributions.
He is survived by a brother, Joseph, of Fairfax, Va., and a sister, Sister Savina, a Catholic nun in the order of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in Providence.
061122
LT061107
Copyright © 2006 - Los Angeles Times. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Los Angeles Times, Permissions, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. http://www.latimes.com.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Pacific Life Foundation and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2006. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2006. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .