•Ondieki is unable to walk well because his feet and hands have been badly infested.
•The last born in a family of two narrated how the jiggers made him lose focus in life.
Image: /FILE
It is a dark cloudy and windy evening when the Star visited the home of man whose dreams of becoming a landlord in the outskirts of Kisii town were cut short by jiggers.
Seated under an avocado tree in Bouti village, Richard Ondieki, 35, ponders his next move. Jiggers shattered his dreams. Ondieki is unable to walk well because his feet and hands have been badly infested.
The last born in a family of two narrated how the jiggers made him lose focus in life.
Ondieki said he had begun building rental houses on his piece of land but only managed to finish three rooms. He earns Sh7,500 a month from them.
“My dreams were killed by the jiggers. I do not know what caused them. I grew up well until late last year when my father Peter Moriasi died from a similar condition,” Ondieki said.
“I dreamed of becoming a landlord because I had had started building some rooms. The project stalled because of my condition."
Ondieki said he dropped out of school in Standard 1 owing to poverty. He turned to drinking illicit brews and smoking of cigarettes out of frustration.
His mother Elmelda Nyanchama has been supportive of him despite his situation. She has been providing food for him and other and other needs like a shop.
Ondieki regretted failing to complete school. He wants to chart a new course in life. He promised to stopped drinking illicit brew and quit smoking. He plans to start small-scale farming to earn a living.
Minto Green Waste management heard of his plight and offered to help. The firm sprayed his house. MD Kefa King’oina said there are rampant cases of jiggers infestation among children. He urged parents to protect their children.
King’oina whom spoke at the home said many children suffer from jiggers infection and are unable to go to school.
He said they dropout due to stigma. King'oina said the majority of the children are families which brew illicit brew and abuse drugs.
“Some parents have ignored their responsibilities of taking care of their children because they engage in excessive consumption of alcohol. Some of the affected children live in dirty a dirty environment which harbour fleas,” he said.
He said the jiggers suck blood leading to anaemia and tetanus.
King'oina appealed to organisations dealing with jiggers to treat the victims and spray their houses.
“I'm appealing to individuals and organisations that offer treatment for victims of jiggers to spray their house to prevent avoid further infections,” he said.