Before and After...Kenya Week 22

Pictures really are worth 1,000 words, so I'll let these photos do the talking. The Befores and Afters of the families we've helped so far with the Jiggers Eradication Campaigns show how powerful a little help can really be.

The Wambogo family was covered with painful parasites locally called jiggers and struggled to survive in their dilapidated and parasite infested home...

















Three months later, the Wambogo family back is on their feet in their new home...and jigger free!



Zadox (on the far left, soaking his jigger invested hands and feet in antiseptic) is a slightly mentally handicapped total orphan. Different families in the Otati community take care of him when they can. Sadly, this lack of consistent familial care led him to becoming severely infected with jiggers. The parasites covered his hands and feet, making it too painful to walk and too humiliating to go to school.

The severity of Zadox's jiggers forced us to bring him to St. Camillus Hospital. We removed hundreds of the parasites with Zadox under sedation. He went home the next day bandaged but walking.

Two months later, Zadox is back in school and doing well. His hands and feet are jigger free and once again he’s smiling happily.


Wilson and Jackline have long suffered the horrible itching and debilitating pain of jiggers. Both are HIV+ and their home is nearly falling apart. All of their children have passed away, leaving them vulnerable and extremely needy. We brought them to the Otati Dispensary to remove the hundreds of parasites from their hands and feet.

Even after removing Jackline’s jiggers and spraying their home with powerful pesticides, the jiggers retrned. Below I’m removing the fleas from Jackline’s feet the second time.
After removing Jackline's jiggers a second time, she managed to keep most of them at bay. But Wilson and Jackline's case requires a bit more help. Read Week 23's story to see what happens next!


Over 180 children and adults from the Otati Community came to have the jiggers removed from their hands and feet on the two Otati Jigger Removal Days.

Two months later I went to follow up at the nearby Otati Primary School. The head teacher proudly reported that the students are doing much better. According to him, the quality of life and health of the entire community has improved after the Otati Jiggers Eradication Campaign.