Kenya : Rural dwellers face brunt of jiggers

Lives in most rural Kenya communities revolve around jiggers. They know little about everything else as they are busy grappling with a problem Kenyans seem to ignore. As the world come to grips with the effects of the US financial crisis, the jigger-infested victims are in a cocoon of their own.They have become so accustomed to jiggers that nothing else matters. Not that they care less about the global economic shrink or other pivotal issues; to them, the jigger problem is the most pressing. Worse still, the victims face another challenge: the stigma and discrimination associated with jiggers. In most pats of Kenya, jigger infestation is touted a curse while in other areas, people affected by jiggers are considered outcasts.In a small remote village of Kiangage, we come face to face with the jigger menace. We nearly down our tools of trade as we encounter the grim situations that surround the jigger victims. Here, children can barely walk as their feet are badly infected by jiggers.

Young Kamau carries a heavy bucket of water on his head. Clad in tattered clothes that barely conceal his ill-nourished body, the young boy is aware that the cameras are focused not on the water he is carrying, but at the sores on his feet. Kamau can barely walk as most of his toes have been eaten up by jiggers. What is left of the flesh is a mere fragile skin covered with pus and dead cells. The boy is conscious of our shock as we realize that the whole village of Kiangage is infested with the deadly bug.

A jigger, scientific name Tunga penetrans, is a sand flea that is brought about by lack of hygiene and breeds in dirty areas. The impregnated female Tunga embeds itself in the skin under the toenails and feeds on the skin of its host. A jigger-infested foot is completely disfigured; the afflicted can barely walk due to the pain from ruptured flesh. The resulting social isolation in turn creates a sense of trauma and reduced self-esteem.

Jigger infestation is largely considered a thing of the past, but in Kenya, hundreds of rural dwellers are living with jiggers in their bodies. To combat national ignorance, Ahadi Trust Kenya, the only NGO leading an anti-jigger campaign in the country, has been organizing occasional tour for journalists and anti-jigger campaigners in order to make public the jigger menace. We visited several villages in Muranga district, about two hours’ drive from Nairobi. Prior to our trip, officials forewarned us of the disturbing images we would encounter.

Our worst fears were confirmed. We came across shocking and unbelievable levels of jigger infestation. The locals appeared oblivious to the pain and suffering they encountered on a daily basis, going about their daily chores regardless of our distress and sympathy. The only thing that bothers them, we learn, is the ridicule and the stigmatization they face from un-infected villagers.

“It is like being infected with HIV,” said Ann Muthoni, a poor single mother. She and her six children are all infected by jiggers. They live in a shack barely able to accommodate all of them, lacking basic amenities such as water. They cannot wash their bodies, thus attracting jiggers.

“I would rather hide in my hut than seek treatment because then, my family will become the laughing stock of the village,” admits Muthoni, who upon seeing cameras, looks down in embarrassment. She tills barren land with difficulty as both her hands and feet are infested. She can barely nurture her young ones as she is drained of energy. One look at her children reveals appalling malnutrition. We were compelled to hold back our tears when Muthoni’s youngest son, Kinuthia crawled with pain to clutch his mother’s dry breast in search of milk. The toddler writhed in agony due to the sores on his feet and toes.

Muthoni’s family is one among many that continues to grapple with the jigger dilemma in Kiangage village. Kiangage is Kikuyu for “a place for the jigger,” a rightful name due to the magnitude of the infestation here. Most families live in abject poverty, dependent on farming for their livelihood. During dry spells, farmers bemoan their fate as the soil cannot sustain vegetation. Children bear the heaviest brunt of the deadly bug as they can no longer walk to school and even then, they find it hard to focus in class.

A visit to Kiangage Primary School where several pupils have been attacked by this bug shocked us even more. From poverty-stricken homes and in threadbare clothes, these students not only contend with excruciating physical pain but also with the piercing ridicule of their fellow students. During lunch, pupils from poor families distance themselves from their well-to-do peers, watching them swallow their meals from a distance.

One student, identified only as Kamau, comes from a very poor family. This is evident from his worn out school uniform and the fact that he cannot afford to bring lunch like the rest of the pupils, his class teacher confides. “He does without lunch and in the evening; he eats hard boiled maize with nothing else.”

Bernard Githere’s family has been intensely attacked by jiggers. When we visited his house, we were greeted by a foul smell. Like many others, this family of four lives in dire poverty and Githere admits that they have not bathed for many months for lack of water.
“We have had to succumb to jiggers – they are part of our family,” he lamented.

He said the jiggers are seasonal and at their peak during the hot season. Githere’s wife Gladys Wanjiru and her two sons, Gitumbi (4years) and Irungu (1year) peep through their small window. Afraid to face the journalists, they hide inside until their father asks them to come out. Irungu can hardly crawl or walk; his legs are too weak and his growth has been stunted by the infection.

Hannah Wangechi is a woman in her mid to late twenties; she is not sure when she was born. Her timidity must be a result of her condition, for she is very aware that she is different. Married with two children, she is the only one infected by jiggers in her family. Wangechi confirms that she shares her sleeping quarters with chickens – perfect carriers of the fleas. She cannot wear shoes because her feet have been badly disfigured.