The concept and value of family is hardwired into the core of every human being. Yes, you may sometimes hate your older sibling for being mean or think your parents are unfair but at the end of the day, they still love you and you still love them.

Family is a life-long relationship, often times the longest one we have throughout our lives. Family has an immense impact on who we grow up to be in life. Above all, family is always that one special place where we can feel loved and safe from the sometimes terrifying world.

This is the kind of example that Damian Pighin and Ariel Vijarra are now showing to the world.

They are the first openly gay couple to be married in Santa Fe, Argentina, and currently the parents of two adopted young girls, Olivia and Victoria. Both Ariel and Damien work for an NGO that helps couples adopt unwanted children.

Damien and Ariel took Olivia into their family when she was just less than a month old after being rejected by 10 families because she was born with HIV. They had been waiting about three years for this call.

Soon after she was adopted Olivia began treatment, showing positive results almost immediately—tests showed that the virus was no longer detectable in her body. Even though there is no cure for HIV as of now, this was still good news as it meant that Olivia would no longer have to suffer the negatives of the virus.

Since then, the couple has adopted a second girl named Victoria. The two young ladies are of similar age, turning 5 this year.