L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D ear Readers, "A man does not have to be an angel to be a saint," said Al- bert Schweitzer. The same holds true for Fr. Angelo D'Agostino, founder of Nyubani (Swahili for "home") and the subject of a new book, DAG Savior of AIDS Or- phans, a biography by Joseph Novello (available on Amazon or your local bookstore), whom some people want to see canonized. If you have me- mories, tales and even mate- rial related to Father D'Ago- stino or you would like to provide testimony to his work and character, you can submit them to www.nyumbani.org /testimonials. I n f a c t , D r . A n t h o n y Fauci, the current director of the National Institute of A l l e r g y a n d I n f e c t i o u s Disease and an authoritative presence during daily press briefings on the COVID-19 pandemic, is one of the peo- ple whose wedding was offi- c i a t e d b y N y u m b a n i F o u n d e r , F a t h e r A n g e l o D'Agostino. Dr. Fauci was a personal friend of Father D'Agostino as well as a col- league involved early on in the fight against HIV/AIDs. L e t m e a s s u r e y o u t h e book is not boring. *** I first met Father Angelo D'Agostino (DAG), a Jesuit Priest Doctor, upon comple- tion of surgical training in urology. He was drafted into the US Air Force and spent two years in it as a urologist. Upon discharge in 1955, he decided to change his med- ical specialty and took psy- c h i a t r i c t r a i n i n g a t G e o r g e t o w n U n i v e r s i t y Department of Psychiatry. In 1971, Dr. D'Agostino was inducted as a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. I n 1 9 7 9 , I w a s i n W a s h i n g t o n , D C w i t h a group of Italo-Americans from the San Francisco Bay A r e a , a t t e n d i n g t h e 1 s t International Conference of the then newly minted 1977 NIAF, when we broke for a late lunch. Father Angelo D'Agostino admired my ele- gant "America, we discov- ered it, we named it, we built it" to which I had affixed my "The Nicest People Have a Root In the Boot" button. DAG reached for his wallet and pulled out a list of Italian button titles he had cut out of the Italo-American "Echo," published in his hometown of Providence, Rhode Island. And that is how our friend- ship began... *** DAG and I stayed in touch, and soon I was receiving let- ters and postcards stamped f r o m p l a c e s I h a d n e v e r h e a r d o f . I t s e e m s t h a t Provincial Fr. Arrupe, who was Superior General of the Society of Jesus at the time, was calling for volunteers to w o r k i n T h a i l a n d w i t h Indochinese refugees. DAG s u s p e n d e d p r a c t i c e a n d t e a c h i n g o b l i g a t i o n s i n Washington, DC for one year and set off for Thailand as Director of a medical facility a t a r e f u g e e c a m p t h e r e . When about to return to the United States, Fr. Arrupe chanced to come through Bangkok. H e m e n t i o n e d t h a t i n Kenya, near Nairobi, a large o r p h a n a g e w a s r e c e i v i n g a b a n d o n e d c h i l d r e n w h o were testing HIV-positive a n d w e r e n o t w e l c o m e because they were going to " d i e a n y w a y " a n d m i g h t infect the others. Returning to Washington DC, Father D'Agostino was able to resume his psychiatric practice, treating mainly fam- ily members of Washington's diplomatic corps. In 1987, he returned to Eastern Africa a n d w a s g i v e n w o r k a s Superior of a retreat house which was in need of expan- sion. However, as a Doctor, he wanted to help the HIV- positive children. He rented a house in the W e s t l a n d s , a n d b y September 1992, he opened a h o m e ( " N y u m b a n i " i n Swahili) for three HIV-posi- tive abandoned children. By 1993, he moved to a larger space as HIV-positive aban- doned children increased to 2 4 a n d b y 1 9 9 5 , a n o t h e r move was necessary as the number of children increased to 39. By 1997, 79 children h a d m o v e d i n t o a n e w l y acquired area and buildings. Advancing our Legacy: Italian Community Services CASA FUGAZI If you know of any senior of Italian descent in San Francisco needing assistance, please contact: ItalianCS.org | (415) 362-6423 | info@italiancs.com Italian Community Services continues to assist Bay Area Italian-American seniors and their families navigate and manage the resources needed to live healthy, independent and productive lives. Since Shelter-in-Place began in San Francisco, Italian Community Services has delivered over 240 meals, over 900 care packages and made over 2000 phone wellness checks for our seniors. B y 2 0 0 2 , t h e t e n y e a r anniversary of Nyumbani, established in the slums of N a i r o b i , t h e r e h a d b e e n expansions to the Nyumbani facilities at Karen. A kitchen house, laboratory, and drive- way were completed. Donated solar panel systems and foun- tains were installed. The local press wrote, "A miracle has happened in Kenya." A large part of the "mira- cle" was Fr. D'Agostino's bat- tle with drug companies in 2 0 0 1 . I n t h e U K , t h e I n d e p e n d e n t N e w s p a p e r w r o t e , " K e n y a n A I D S Orphanage Declares War o n t h e D r u g C o m p a n y Giants." Nyumbani will defy international patent laws and import new AIDS drug from India. The drug is the same, the difference is the price. The western drug costs $3K/year, while the generic from Bombay's Cipla costs as little as $350. In 2002 DAG wrote, "At Nyumbani, nobody has died since the drugs got into full swing last August, but if the drug companies succeed in keeping generics out of Africa, the neat little graveyard at Nyumbani will soon be filling up again." This was a showdown. The w o r l d w a s w a t c h i n g . T h e stakes could not be higher, not only for the orphanage of the 94 HIV-positive children, but for all of Kenya, all of Africa, all of the Third World. And, at the center of this life- and-death drama, stood DAG, an overnight hero to the many w h o c o u l d b e n e f i t , b u t a threat to the few who profited. DAG fans from all over the world flew into Kenya when Fr. Angelo D'Agostino passed away. Born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1926 and died in Kenya in 2006, he is now buried in his adopted country.

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