Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) was honored by the faith-based organization Children of God Relief Fund, also known as Nyumbani USA, for his role in improving the lives of AIDS affected and infected children in Kenya.
The Awards Reception was held on Friday night, September 18, 2015 in Washington, D.C. at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on the occasion of Nyumbani’s 23rd anniversary. Nyumbani, which means “Home” in the Swahili language, was founded in 1992 by the late Father Angelo D’Agostino, SJ, MD, a Jesuit from Georgetown University who also was a physician, caring both for the physical and spiritual needs of children stricken with HIV AIDS.
Smith received the award from Sister Mary Owens, IBVM, for his “work on PEPFAR legislation which has been so critical to saving our children in the fight against AIDS, TB and Malaria.” Smith work on the PEPFAR reauthorization in 2008 ensured that faith-based organizations were able to continue to receive funding for their life-saving work and would not be discriminated against, preserving and strengthening conscience protections that are so important to faith-based actors.
“PEPFAR was game-changer legislation that truly transformed the continent of Africa. Lives that once would have been lost to a dread disease, children that would have been orphaned, are now given a chance to lead healthy, productive lives,” said Smith, a senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Chairman of its Africa and global health subcommittee.
Noting that over 50 million children are orphaned in sub-Saharan Africa, many having lost parents to AIDS and are themselves infected, Smith stated that “It is in response to the cries of these children, calling out for a mother and father who are gone, that Nyumbani came into existence. This great life work of Father D’Agostino, carried on by Sister Mary, with the help and assistance of so many of you, is testimony to the ever relevant, ever new, ever fresh call of our Lord in Matthew 25: ‘For whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, you do unto Me.’”
Funds raised at the evening’s event were used to continue the programs of the Nyumbani Children’s Home in Nairobi, which cares for orphaned HIV positive children. It also supports the group’s “Lea Toto” outreach program which provides antiretroviral drugs and nutrition to over 3000 families affected by HIV/AIDS.
The US government, through USAID and PEPFAR, supports the work of Nyumbani. Smith praised the group for its tireless work on behalf of children, and urged that the U.S. government continue to fund the work of Nyumbani and other faith-based organizations.
“Africa in particular can be said to be a faith-based continent, and Kenya a faith-based country. The bottom-up work which of all of you do there, at the grassroots and village level through existing church-based networks, and the trust that people have in you because of your commitment to serving Christ in the least of our brothers, is something that other secular organizations can never match,” said Smith.
In his role as chairman of the Africa and Global Health subcommittee, Smith has made numerous trips to Africa and to Kenya. He has held myriad hearings on health, human rights and security issues on the continent.
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