While I was in Kenya, I had the opportunity to be part of a Wholly Yours Ministries "Love in Action" project called "Operation Jigger Removal". It was a collaboration between Wholly Yours Ministries and the "House of Winners Worship Center - Ogalo". We held it at a local public school, and we were welcomed by all. There were several children that were treated for jiggers, and we are in the process of following up with them at their homes to educate them on preventive measures as well as help them irradicate the jiggers in their home environment. This entails spraying the surroundings with a pesticide and washing bedding and items that could possibly have eggs.
For those who aren't familiar with jiggers, they're actually a flea, the Chigoe flea, and they're present is soil in various locations and especially in unclean environments. The flea actually burrows into the skin of the feet, hands, and other places on the body, feed and breed inside, and then bores a hole and lays eggs through the hole. In other words, the human body is a host for them, and they use the human body to disperse their eggs.
Our team identified several children with this condition, removed the jiggers and then treated the area on the feet and hands with a special medication. Removing them required uncovering them with a sharp blade and scraping them out which is the only way to get rid of them. Applying treatment without physically removing them does no good.
The pictures below are pretty graphic, but this is real life of many children and adults. If left untreated jiggers can cause loss of limbs and even death. Even though the treatment is simple, and the cost is low, most cannot afford the treatment. There was one little boy in particular (shown in pics below) that had a lot of these in his feet, hands, and even his knees. The teacher stated it took him two hours to walk the short distance to school because of the pain. It also is very difficult for the children to concentrate in school because of the itching and also some children have difficulty writing due to having these in their hands.
Thanks to all who donate to Wholly Yours Ministries. Your gifts enabled us to help a few of these children, but our finances are very limited so we could only help a few. There is a huge need for this and treatments such as deworming, not only for children, but also for adults. We'd like to create a monthly program at the House of Winners Worship Center in Ogalo, whereby the local people can come to the church and get treated. Our church is in a rural area and people are very poor, so there's virtually no funds generated by the church to fund any type of outreach programs. Our volunteer team is ready, we just need to fund this program to be able to provide the treatment and items for preventative measures such as a spray unit, pesticides, shoes and possibly clean bedding.
Will you help us fund this program? If so, you can send funds through Paypal account whollyoursministries@gmail.com, CashApp account $WYM59 or through the mail to Wholly Yours Ministrries 483 Oak Hill St. NE, Abingdon, VA 24210. Wholly Yours Ministries is a non-profit organization, and your donations are tax deductible per IRS guidelines. If there are any other methods by which you want to donate, just send email me at whollyoursministries@gmail.com and we'll work together to make sure we get the funds.
God bless each and every one of you for your prayers and generous giving.
Wholly Yours in Christ,
Rev. Paul Havens
Wholly Yours Ministries
Founder and President
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