Jigger Free Community Outreach to Mayuge district

On Monday our outreach team visited Bulondo village in Mayuge district.

Emmanuel reached there late in the afternoon and found many suffering people from jiggers and said many of the people also died due to the flea feasting.

Emmanuel treated a certain man in his 40th for about two hours.... His name is Balikowa Henry.. his old mother cried how happy she was Whisper came to help her son to treat his jigger.

Jiggers are a big problem to the Ugandan society due to the poverty.

A person attacked by the jiggers starts suffering from severe pain in the feet or hands - depending on which part of the body jiggers have attacked. One jigger can create hundreds of eggs which then spread all over the feet or hands. People find difficult in walking or doing day to day things.

If not treated, the health condition that jigger creates, can attack the brain.

Jiggers distort fingers and nails sometimes beyond recognition.

Whisper is working hard to fight this.

All jiggers around Mutai village in Jinja district are almost killed!

Well done to the Whisper team! Well done Emma!

Warning - photos are shocking!

Costs involved:

Transport: 40.000 UGX

This is a finger!!!

jiggers and dead skin from the treatment

Emmanuel is dressing the wounds

Henry is happy now!

Baby Juliana's temporary at our Whisper's home

It was almost a week, when baby Juliana and her mother Brenda were discharged from the hospital.

After we learnt that she missed her appointment for the check up couple of days ago, we came to see what is going on in her home again.

We found Brenda (the mother) far from her home, just standing on the side of the road.
We asked her what she was doing and she said she was fetching water. It didn't seem like it, since she had no jerry cans with her.

I asked where was her baby, and she said back at home with the grandfather.
When i asked her why was she leaving the baby behind, she replied that she has to go to fetch water and also dig in the garden, so she leaves the baby alone on the floor in the mud house.

Inside of me, I was terrified! Baby Juliana needs an intensive care, full of safe environment and proper good feeding. Verily, Brenda was not giving either to her. Unfortunately this was something that I expected.

We thank again to Whisper's supporter Lydia who donated plenty of nappies, clothing and baby food, which we took now to the Whisper home where we are ready to take care of Brena and baby Juliana for couple of months, until baby is out of the dangerous neglect and Brenda is properly trained to take full responsibility for her baby.

After taking baby Juliana to our home, before we put her into her new bed, we bathed her and prepared an infant milk for her. She was so hungry that she drank the whole bottle!! Then she kept crying for more...

Mother Brenda arrived after couple of hours. We instructed our social worker Sam to monitor Brenda breast-feeding her baby properly, without neglecting her by doing other things.

We hope that Brenda's motherhood will start improving since she won't need to worry about digging in the garden all morning and fetching water many times a day. She has to fully concentrate on feeding her malnourished baby who need the most care in the world right now.

We can also make sure that Brenda will never miss her hospital appointment again.