A new unique way of tackling the impact of the HIV and Aids scourge in Kenya is shaping up in a remote village in Kitui District. Elderly mothers and orphans are being nurtured to restore the continuity of the broken families in a programme run by the Nyumbani Village.

Nyumbani, situated near Kwa-vonza market in Kitui West constituency, is a self-sustaining community centre, restoring hope to orphans and elders affected by the deadly pandemic. Through group homes and community institutions, the village harnesses the energy of youth and the maturity of elders to create new blended families to provide compassion and care for the destitute, so that the orphaned will rise up to lead productive, safe and comfortable future lives.

The village, the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa, stands out from the conventional set-up of children's homes, where children are confined in an institution with a centralised authority. Here, the orphans live together with their guardians as if in a real family setup where they are provided with basic necessities. The distressed grandparents, who toiled hard in their youthful years to educate and bring up their children responsibly, had their hopes of ageing gracefully abruptly shattered. After Aids claimed their sons and daughters, they suddenly found themselves becoming the breadwinners for the family.