Aidchild (later to become Aidchild Leadership Institute) was founded by Nathaniel Dunigan. Dunigan first visited Uganda when he was Deputy Director of the Office of the Governor in Tucson, Arizona. A one-month assignment as a volunteer HIV-prevention educator had taken him to Africa where he met many children who were suffering and dying. On his return to the US, he resolved to make a difference, and completed a feasibility study for his Aidchild concept. At the age of 26, he resigned from his job, sold his car and belongings, and moved to Uganda. He had an initial budget of just $3,500. Two years later, Aidchild was chosen by the Ugandan and American governments as a model of pediatric HIV/AIDS care for the entire continent of Africa. A second center was created just after that, as was a treatment laboratory that has served the needs of more than 3,000 children and adults living with AIDS.