Whisper's Jigger Free Community Program in Kagera Village

During our regular outreach day, Whisper's staff visited Kagera village and discovered that they are many children affected by jiggers and during this visited, Whisper treated seven small children.

Arafa Magayo

We started out treatment with Arafa Magayo (7 years) who goes to P1 in Swiidia. He is a son of Kalimu Magayo & Babyrie Nusiula who are peasants. The boy was in their home where we arrived but ran away to the sugar planation because he feared to be treated.

Other children appeared from the neighbourhood who were affected with jiggers too and who helped us to find Arafa, and who later accepted to remove tens of jiggers from both his feet.

Jiggers were removed, treated the wounds (eggs removed) and feet cleaned.

However the boy was very dirty yet, the mother said that he bathes every day.
We advised him to do regular feet checking and proper cleaning - which we demonstrated.

We advised the mother to sweep the home regularly, since each jigger can produce very many eggs.

Teddy & Phiona (5yrs)

We also treated children from neighbourhood, as they came to see us, and told us about their jiggers too. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the parents as we were told they worked in the garden.

Phiona Mugide (10 years), going to P2
Emma Malabiri (6 years), going to P1

The above children are under the care of their grandmother who has lost normal eye sight and who is affected by jiggers too.

We found that their father Charles Domba (38 years old) was taking alcohol just near by. Whisper approached Charles for a small chat about his children and the situation they live in.

Whisper staff removed many jiggers out of the grandmother's and children's feet.

Brenda & her Baby Juliana are truly blessed

We are happy to see baby Juliana improving and glowing every day more and more.

It has been now a week since they are in the hospital and we were happy to learn that Brenda actually has milk in her breasts, only that her nipples were turned inside so the milk would not flow.

Brenda received training from the nursers and baby is now on some gentle medicine.

She is being observed and she has gained weight to 2.9kg!

Mother Brenda is looking very happy actually, she has realised how lucky she is to have such beautiful baby and also what a great support she received from  unknown people.

So when I received a message from Ms Lydia Kunihira that she wished to visit her and handed over some small gifts for her, I was really surprised when she rang me and said she was in Jinja and ready to visit them.

I have met a lovely Ugandan lady who travelled all the way from Kampala to bring amazing gifts that baby Juliana desperately needs.

Brenda was so happy and just said "God is Great".

I think Brenda has the biggest motivation to care for her baby girl and cope up with her life like she never had before.

I want to thank Lydia and her friends and work colleagues for sharing the work of Whisper, and coming down to Jinja on a Saturday afternoon to make a difference to someone's life.

Yes. God is Great! 

Daily upkeep for Brenda: £1.35

Baby is going to be the smartest baby in Mutai village.

Baby Juliana from Mutai

Earlier this week we got a visitor at our children's home in Mutai from a 19 year old girl called Brenda, holding a tiny "knot" in her arms.  It was her two months old baby Juliana.

She whispered for help as she was advised by some people to come to us.

Today when our team came to visit Brenda and her baby, our hearts just stopped seeing such a tiny tiny baby girl, weighing only 1 1/2 kg. Baby was so hungry and her cry was just sounds of wheeze. No energy to cry, and a small hope upon her tiny life.

Mother came to breastfeed her, but her breasts are dry. As much as the child tries to suck, nothing comes out.

First thought I had was "Omg this child is going to die!"

We immediately put a water on the fire (the fire was hold by the waste from the corn).  We realised how pressures and difficult is to care for a small baby's food in the village like that. The water was not clean enough, we had to filter it and remove any dirt and ash..  We mixed  the baby powder milk we bought at the supermarket and gave it to her to drink. 

As soon as the milk was ready and cooled for her, Juliana drank and drank - it made us smile! Then she fell asleep.

We took them to the children's ward in Jinja for examination and further treatment.

It took us 4.5 hours of waiting until baby Juliana was diagnosed, tested and given a bed for admission.

We left the hospital at 9.30pm.

Brenda with her baby are now admitted at the children's ward. Brenda had  only one single sheet to take with her, no blanket, and no other clothes for the baby.

Our team during investigation

Brenda comes from an extremely poor family, and even today, she sleeps on a mat, which is laid on the stoned floor. Brenda covers with only one sheet. 

We are going to support the mother with any hospital fees as well as with her feeding whilst she stays in the hospital.

We thank each and everyone who has donated to our organisation and supported us with kind words of encouragement, because this is what makes what we do today. 

Please pray for this little angel so Whisper finds ways of helping her with any means we can afford, so the baby survives those most vulnerable weeks.

COST INVOLVED:

nappies                                     7 500 Shillings
baby milk                                30 000 Shillings
feeding bottle                            4 000 Shillings
food & drinks for the mother    5 000 Shillings



A BIT OF THE BACKGROUND
Baby Juliana was born on the 7th of June 2013 to a 19 year old single mother Brenda, who comes from Mutai village.

Her story is very similar to any other story we find in the rural villages. 
She dropped from the school at Senior 3 as her father could not afford school fees for her. Instead he found her a job, so she can earn some money for herself as well as to support the family she comes from.

Her mother got mental problems and needed to return back to her village some time ago, and her father find very hard to take care of her and her siblings.

When Brenda became pregnant, the father of the baby disappeared as soon as he found out, because he wanted to avoid any responsibility for the unborn baby.

As soon as Brenda said that news to her father, the father chased her out of the house.

When Brenda gave birth to a tiny Juliana, she found that her breasts don't contain much milk to feed the baby. 

She felt very depressed and wanted to give up on her life, until a certain lady called Debora let her stay at her home and shared the food with her.

Unfortunately the baby refused to improve in health. She reported that she tried to give her a cow milk and porridge, however Juliana condition worsened.