Derek Moores recently flew a team of 10 to Marsabit, north Kenya, to initiate a jiggers eradication programme.
Organised by Karura Community Chapel in Nairobi, the programme is a collaborative work with Gospel Outreach Assembly in Marsabit, and Ahadi Kenya Trust, an NGO focussed on treatment, rehabilitation and prevention of jiggers.
The female jigger, or sand flea, burrows into the skin to lay its eggs, usually on the feet and sometimes on the hands. Lack of water and the ability to remove jiggers leads to painful infection which deforms limbs and results in loss of mobility, to the degree that children do not go to school and adults cannot work. Stigmatisation causes further suffering and isolation.
Derek, who remained with the team during their work, reports:
'Treatment consisted of washing the affected area with soap and water, then immersing those areas in Potassium Permanganate solution and finally applying cream to moisturise the dry skin.
Over 100 people were treated during the session. Each patient, and they ranged in age from toddlers to the elderly, was given soap, Vaseline and nail clippers to continue the treatment.
I helped by keeping the supply of bowls of clean water or solution flowing.'
Affected areas need to be soaked on a daily basis for two weeks, and homes treated with Selvin powder to kill jiggers in the dust that may cause future infections. Volunteers from Gospel Outreach Assembly Church took responsibility for this ongoing work. This way, the work will be based on sustainable and life-transforming relationships.
An initial road trip to Marsabit in 2009 took over 18 hours and passed through areas prone to bandit attacks. Karura Community Chapel, as organizers of the campaign, approached MAF for assistance with this second trip:
For a safe and efficient campaign that will enable all of the partners from Nairobi to participate, airplane flights to and from Marsabit are the preferred means of transport.
A partnership between MAF and these churches can help achieve shared goals of empowering community development through local leaders with a focus on spiritual and physical transformation.