Kenya: a country of many contrasts, ranked sixth on the extreme poverty index
Author: Christine Dunn
“Vast savannahs peppered with immense herds of wildlife. Snow-capped mountains on the equator. Traditional peoples who bring soul and colour to the earth. Welcome to Kenya.” Lonely Planet
This is the story of a family in the village of Mangongo, Nyamira county. A family of four kids born in abject poverty to a drunkard father and a mother struggling to make ends meet — all in vain. They are surviving on a single meal a day or at times running days without.
Considering the age of the kids, and lack of proper care, they are malnourished and jigger infested not only on their feet, but also on the most unthinkable parts of their bodies –umbilical cords.
Jiggers, or chigoe fleas, are sand fleas found in Sub-Saharan climates that burrow into the skin and lay eggs. They cause swelling, itching and infection which can lead to amputation and sometimes death. Worse still, the parents themselves are jigger-infested.
The hygiene state of the house is sorry and poor. As you push the entrance door in, a sharp, nauseating stench of jigger-eaten flesh, strikes your nose. Another door leading to the bedroom is pushed in: the creaking sounds of the door hinges loosely tell the story of the poverty level in this family.
You come across shocking and unbelievable levels of jigger infestation. The locals appear oblivious of to the pain and suffering this family encounters on a daily basis. The only thing that bothers this family, we learn, is the ridicule and the stigmatization they face from uninfected villagers.
“Kenya is a country of many contrasts, from its landscape to demographics, and more so its social and economic inequalities. Kenya is one of the most unequal countries in the sub-region. Forty two percent of its population of 44 million, live below the poverty line.” UNICEF
According to the World Health Organization, Kenya has just one doctor and only 12 nurses/midwives for every 10,000 people.
The family in the story above is now being helped by Healthcare Rescue Center. They are in good hands now and there is a hope that they will improve their health and living conditions.
Healthcare Rescue Centre is an NGO, founded by Roselyne Nyakona David, created to provide accessible and affordable healthcare to the less fortunate while still giving high quality care to those in need. As well as providing healthcare needs, HRC aims to provide a better standard of living for those who need a helping hand such as mothers raising their children and the elderly.
GOODdler makes easy for supporters from around the world to help people in need. If you can’t come to Kenya and spent time with Kenyans who need help, you can send a gift to those who are less fortunate through the charities GOODdler supports.
GOODdler makes each dollar stretch to the max, helping global, civic, and charitable organizations to meet the basic needs of their constituencies by connecting them to international communities and allowing individual supporters from anywhere around the world to easily purchase items requested by the organizations they support. As a result, help is delivered to those in need on a scale it had never reached before.
Healthcare Rescue Centre (Kenya) created a wishlist on the GOODdler platform with items from a local retailer with prices as they are in Kenya. People who would like to donate purchase goods from the wishlist, and once enough of the item is purchased to load a truck, a local retailer will personally deliver all the goods to the charity.
