We’ve Got a Good Thing Going...Kenya Week 17: January 24-31

It’s amazing how a series of small, yet related events can evolve into a full blown public health intervention. I’m seeing it happen before my eyes. Or rather, I am seeing how my actions are making it happen. It started when I couldn’t get the story of the destitute Wambogo family out of my head. So we removed their jiggers and built them a new house. Then beautiful little Rocky with 5 jiggers in his feet led to the discovery of the jiggers outbreak in Otati. Then Wilson and Jacklin, 150 children and adults in Otati, and 45 school children in Rabare. And just when we thought that jiggers only affected individuals in remote areas, the severity of the problem hit close to home when we found 2 families in Sori Town, only 3 km from the hospital.

Eunice, a beautiful young widow, and her 6 children slept on the floor of their barely livable mud hut on the outskirts of Sori. After we removed their jigger and bought them new shoes, we realized we needed to go a step further. Her young children not only suffered from jiggers, but also constant respiratory infections from sleeping on the dusty floor. and cemented their floor. Eunice told me that you never know when God will answer your prayers. But for her, He did when we first knocked on her door.
Eunice's young daughter at the door to their newly cemented home. The family is sleeping soundly and away from the fleas in the soil

David was so poor he swallowed sand to make his stomach feel full. Neighbors brought him homemade beer, when they had extra, and he drank to ease the hunger pains. His feet and hands were so covered with jiggers he could barely walk and couldn’t sleep at night from the unbearable itching. Since we’ve removed his jiggers, bought him a good pair of shoes, smeared the floor of his home to keep the jiggers away, and bought him food and cooking supplies, he’s regaining his strength and his dignity. He hasn’t drunk alcohol in 2 weeks since the day, as he put it, that the two white ladies (Lauren and I) told him to quit drinking. And the smile on his face tells the story of a man ready for a second chance.
David proudly displaying his jigger free feet!

Everyday we are getting reports from Community Health Volunteers, Social Workers, and concerned community members about jigger cases throughout Karungu and beyond. So now that we’ve opened the Pandora’s Box of a major public health concern, what do we do about it? Currently nothing is being done to help those infected or prevent further infections. And we’ve realized that jiggers are plaguing hundreds, if not thousands of our neighbors

So I sat down with Barnabas Wajiwa, the Assistant Chief of Sori, to develop a plan. Working with the District Public Health Officer, St. Camillus Hospital, and the Provincial Authorities, we’ve designed a systematic, sustainable program to not only help those infected with jiggers, but to implement major prevention efforts and educational activities. It’s even got a catchy name: Karungu Jiggers Eradication Campaign, or more conveniently, KJEC! It won’t be easy and it won’t happen quickly, but little by little, we can drastically reduce the health burden caused by jiggers in Karungu. And what is particularly appealing to me is that since jiggers most significantly affects the poorest of the poor, these pesky parasites are a direct way to reach the people in our community that most need our assistance. We can do more than just extract the fleas from their feet. We can give them shoes, help them clean their homes, and in severe cases, even cement the floor of their mud huts.
The only real kink in the whole program is that we need funds to really make it effective. We don’t need millions of dollars. For about $3 we can give a child a good pair of shoes to protect their feet. For about $300 we can cement the floor of a home and permanently prevent jiggers from returning. For about $600 we can cement the floor of a classroom to protect school children from getting jiggers from their classmates.

In another series of well-timed events, I’m flying home next week for my older sister’s wedding. But instead of putting the project on hold till I return, we’re taking advantage of this priceless opportunity. My home parish, St. Marks Catholic Church in Independence, Missouri, has agreed to let me host a fundraising event for the project. Talk about good timing! My family, friends, and neighbors who made it possible for me to come to Kenya can hear and see first hand what I’m doing. Anyone who’s curious can come learn more about living and working in a developing country. And anyone who wants to help drastically change the lives of some of the world’s poorest and forgotten can find out how.

Here are the details!

Kayla in Kenya Fundraiser
Date: Thursday, February 18th
Time: 7 pm
Location: St. Marks Catholic Church, the Upper Room
3736 S. Lee's Summit Road
Independence, MO 64055

I’ll write more about the event and the Karungu Jiggers Eradication Campaign as we go along. But in the mean time, clear you calendars and I’ll see you at St. Marks on the 18th!