“Today there are thousands of children and young adults who are alive because of their [Marian and her husband, John's] work," Melanie Verwoerd, former South African Ambassador to Ireland.

Sr Mary Owens IBVM acts as executive director of Nyumbani Village, a non-profit, self-sustaining community that supports and cares for both orphans and elders infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS in Kenya.

"Dedicated and doggedly persistent, she was an example of God-centred religious life."

Without father figures, young people often feel ‘orphaned’ and left adrift at a critical moment in their growth and development.