Ever hear of a Jigger?

GREETINGS DEAR FRIENDS:

In the western part of Kenya, in a county called Vihiga, there are vast stretches of land where the earth is bright red. The color of the earth makes for a pretty picture, but buried inside its beauty is a major health hazard for the people living there. It is a haven for vast numbers of small creatures called jiggers. These tiny insects, no bigger than a flee, burough under the skin and cause severe pain and major infection, especially in the soft skin of children. Whenever we have done medical camps in this part of Kenya there are literally hundreds of children who show up in our camps whose feet, fingers and toes are critically damaged by these little pests. Note the photos below! The treatment for those affected by jiggers, up until now, has almost been worse than the disease. For decades medical professionals have cut the infected areas with razor blades to squeeze out the jiggers. This practice leaves the patient susceptible to infections that have caused major complications. Just a few years ago a new, less invasive, cure was found for this problem. The patient simply soaks their hands and feet in a bowl of antiseptic for several hours to kill the insect and the healing process begins.

Several years ago, in 2015 our Worldcomp medical team launched a week-long anti-jigger campaign which treated almost 500 children in the city of Majengo. We asked local clinics and government health officials to join us in this effort, with Worldcomp footing the bill. Through this effort we made a deep impression on the local health officials. Now they have come to us and shared that the jigger infestation is extremely bad this year, especially among school children in Vihiga county. Thy have asked us to sponsor the largest anti-jigger campaign that anyone has ever undertaken and we have accepted this challenge. Later this month, our medical volunteers will team up with 200 community health volunteers to reach out to 20,000 people in a single week. The team will visit every school in the area to treat kids who are infected. After that we will hold clinics at several local churches and following that we will go door to door to teach families how to disinfect their homes so the problem will not return.

WE NEED YOUR HELP: I am asking for your help to raise $6000 for this campaign. It will be a bare-bones operation but In order to pull this off, we will need hundreds of gallons of disinfectant, bandages, medical supplies and some medication. We will also need transportation for our volunteers and we need to feed them during this week. Please consider making a donation this this vital project. Even a small amount, when added to the gifts of others make make all the difference in the world.