Gatundu residents cry for help as jiggers infestation hits village

Residents of Hakimori village in Gatundu North, Kiambu County are crying for help after a jigger infestation hit the village.

Bearing the brunt are the elderly persons who have been incapacitated from going about their daily economic activities as the fleas invade both their hands and legs thereby making them unable to walk or use their hands.

Residents decried that the poor village has known no peace for months now due to the ravaging parasitic insects which have wreaked havoc on over 10 families thereby worsening livelihoods.

Jane Ngige, a concerned local, said the most affected by the jigger menace are elderly persons from poor families who have been disrupted from their farm activities as they are forced to spend most of the time removing them.

Ngige says most of the elderly persons have lost their nails as a result of the invasion with others having developed inflammation, and ulceration among other ailments.

Speaking at the village, Ngige said concerned locals have been trying to eliminate the insects using vehicles oil but the intervention has only been serving as a temporary solution to the menace that has also left most of the affected in discomfort.

“Our elders have been left in agonizing pain and cannot do anything for themselves due to swollen limbs. They have suffered both physical and psychological pain,” Ngige told journalists on Tuesday, October 25.

Jane Wangari, a widow whose five children died several years ago, said she has been left with no one to support her in life as she can no longer be able to go about farming.

The 75-year-old woman regretted that the infestation has occasioned serious psychological torture on her body and called on well-wishers to help the village eliminate the insects.

Her sentiments were echoed by Raphael Wanyoro who no longer walks without a walking stick as the jiggers have been increasing day by day inside her legs and hands.

“Coupled with poverty, I have been left a troubled man. I now require new blankets, sheets and a bed to survive. These insects have been inside my body for more than one year now and following their attack, I can no longer be able to walk without this stick,” he said.

Angered that local leaders have failed to provide them with quality and lasting solutions to the menace, the villagers called for action by the government and well-wishers to eradicate the problem and avert more health complications among residents.

source