More than 200 residents of Mbee location in Kathiani, Machakos, have benefitted from an anti-jigger campaign led by the Anglican Church.
The one-day drive was conducted on Saturday at St Barnaba's ACK, Mbee. Beneficiaries also got food and clothes. They included 34 school dropouts who had suffered severe pain due to infestation. Some had difficulty walking.
Beneficiary Rose Nzeki urged the national government to intervene and help to fix the problem and ensure children do not drop out of school.
Church leaders organised the exercise in partnership with Mothers Union and the county Health Department. Health workers from Kathiani Level 4 Hospital worked alongside community health volunteers, soaked the victims' feet and hands in chemical solutions to cleanse the fresh wounds and prevent further infection.
Bishop Kioko Mutungi of the Kathiani diocese said the campaign advocates zero jigger infection. It began in 2016 and will continue to reach out to victims in other parts of the county. He said many schoolchildren had been affected and the situation was to blame for the poor academic performance in the region.
Mutungi said affected children could end up being dependents because most of them dropped out of school.
"Most of these children feel stigmatised and because of underlying poverty in their families, they drop out of school. This acts as a hindrance to the country's collective move towards economic development," he said.
The community health volunteers will monitor the victims for the next two weeks to make sure they recover.
Reverend Bernard Runyeje urged residents to maintain hygiene, cautioning that jiggers thrive in unclean environment, especially in areas with red soil.
"The jigger-causing fleas are a menace that can be eliminated totally for the sake of our younger generation if the locals maintain a clean environment."
