The Italian Associations of Nomads that Love (A.I.N.A) was founded in 1993 with the help and support of the Little Missionary Sisters of Don Orione and Sister Noemi. A.I.N.A based itself in Igoji, a small rural village in the district of Meru, Kenya.  For all their love and support, we would like to thank Sister Noemi, Sister Christopera, Mother Elisa, Mother Ortensia with whom we began our long relationship with the Don Orione community. And of course, to all our supporters who continue to believe in our dream, our Children’s Home, "Bimbi del Meriggio”, thank you. 

1993: The project “Ciotola di riso” (Bowl of Rice) was set up to help provide food to malnourished children. The project also worked closely with schools to guarantee many  children in rural Kenya at least one safe meal a day. The project “AIDS aiutami a conviverci” (Help Me Live with AIDS) was also founded in 1993, which aims to help provide HIV-positive children with adequate medical care and where needed, specialized care. A. I.N.A. also nurses and assists children in Kenya with severe physical deformities, and helps to treat children from Igoji, Mugoiri and the surrounding areas.

1995: A.I.N.A. helped to build the Aqueduct of Kathambandega, for the St. Anne Maternity Cottage Hospital of Igoji. This project was funded by the Cral Worthington of Desio (Milan, Italy). In addition, we created our free magazine, “Volere Volare” (Wanting to Fly) dedicated to spreading the news and successes of A.I.N.A’s projects; in which we publish reports on our projects, the experiences of volunteers and news articles about our solidarity with and inherent problems regarding the condition of women in Kenya.

1998: A.I.N.A. joined the Coordination of Associations for School Sponsorships La Gabbianella (The Lucky) which brings together some 42 charitable organisations throughout Italy. La Gabbianella is engaged in activities to increase awareness surrounding the problems of the world’s children.

1999: A. I.N.A. provided information desks in San Benedetto del Tronto and Tortona where, in addition to giving information about our projects, we also sold handicrafts as a form of fundraising for our projects in Kenya and all around the world. 

2000: A.I.N.A. promotes a project in Argentina called “Sun Community” Thanks the help of a voluntary group in Perugia (Italy) coordinates by Sandro Priorelli, it has been realized a village for twenty families in a place called Barranqueras (Chaco) we inaugurated the village in September, it has 20 houses in bricks, with drainage and electricity, there is also a big room where people can meet in different places. Here people have meetings, parties, a dress maker’s place and even a baker’s. Everything these people produce it is sold in the other villages. All that can help people to work and live better.

2000: After many years of experiences in land of missions in Rome born “Il Fiore del Deserto” (The flower in the desert) a welcome house for women and teenagers who have problems. The structure was born to face all the new poverty of Italian society: familiar discomfort, immigration, prostitution, minors to risk.

2001: The first camp of sharing with the boys and girls of the urban suburb of Meru (Kenya) we sign a social convention with the town council of Modena (Italy) that gives us money for the Mission of Igoji.

2002: The Association organizes in April at the welcome house “Il Fiore del deserto” in Rome,  the first national meeting of the A.I.N.A. voluntaries.

2003: The Associations receives an economic help from the Province of Ascoli Piceno for the children with HIV of the hospital of Igoji (Kenya) we celebrate the decade of A.I.N.A.

2004: Thanks the economic help of the Tower council of Benevento, the little structure to receive the children with HIV  (AIDS), we are able to build a bigger classroom, and a room where children can play we can get some specialized workers to assist and educate children who usually can’t attend school or they are sick.

2005: In August we make a project “Bimbi del Meriggio 2”

2006: Adhesion of the Association to the project “Net of the African women for peace” we collaborate with “La Gabbianella” ( http://www.retedonneafricane.it/ )

2007: In October we bought a piece of land of 7,5 acres, situated in the District of Meru 250 Km, North Nairobi (see the project “AINA's Children's Home")

2008: In March we started to build a small welcome village that has different places. The fertility of the ground assures the possibility to structure an agricultural farm, useful for the autonomy of the structure (see the project “AINA's Children's Home").

2009: The work on the construction of the village have gone forward, the buildings of the nursery, dormitory and kitchen-dining room were completed and, soon, the building for resident volunteers will be completed too.
It was realized the water system that brings drinking water to the village by allowing the local community to draw water at collection points located along the route of pipelines. We developed the farm, called "Shamba" in Swahili, with crops of fruit and vegetables and the breeding of farm animals, needed to make self-sufficient in terms of food the whole village-home.

On April 24th, 2010: “AINA Children’s Home” - "The New Hope Orphanage" has been inagurated.
The village-home will be able to house about 100 HIV positive children from nursery up to 15 years old granting them a place where live like in a family finding psychological, sanitarian and social support. The right to instruction and well-achievement will be granted through the AINA’S project of “Distance Learning Support” (D.L.S. Project), already widely operating through other missions that cooperate with AINA in Kenya.
The Opening of the village-home does not put an end to AINA’s work because the last phase of the project foresees the objective of making it self-sufficient through a period of three years time. During this time a complex task of training of the personnel workers of the village, development of manufacturing and handcraft production, increase of the agricultural production and of the livestock living in the “Shamba” - the village-home’s farm - must be developed.
To get this aim AINA needs more than ever the help of all those good-willing people who, by understanding the harsh reality in which these children live, donate their money in order to create a better future for them in their country!