We decided that there was no point in moving these little, jigger ridden feet from one house to another without addressing the problem that this family just seemed to put up with. So, we decided to treat them so that this new house would be representing a new start and new feet! Little did we know what we had started! We gathered up the children, and they were told to wash their feet, however, the clean water washed away the thick mud to reveal just how bad this problem was. Seeing hundreds of jiggers living in one foot was almost too much to stomach, how could this have got so bad. There was something so horrifically unforgettable about seeing an 8 year old boy scrubbing away at his rotting feet in fear of what we were about to do..
Tim got his surgical gloves and needle and got ready to take the jiggers out one by one. And in fairness kept his head down until every single jigger was dealt with…
Knowing it was such a painful thing, and seeing the boy with tears streaming down his face, there were times when we wanted to just stop and say it was all too much. But the evidence of the rotting feet just reminded us that it had to be done and so all you could do was hold onto a frightened, little hand and let it continue. Tim persevered to the end and deserves a medal. Even the father humbly came forward to have us help him which was a great sign.
It took a while to put right with the children what had just happened, but, they were forgiving enough and the following day greeted us with big smiles. You could already see some improvement and they had all benefited form a pain free sleep, possibly the first in years.
The children were all awarded with a new clean t-shirt which made them beam even more. As we had overlooked the Father, Tim gave him his creased paint shirt which strangely enough looked to be an improvement. It was a rewarding experience to watch him pulling up his collar and walking tall with a new sense of dignity.
The grandma told us that we had brought hope to the family again and she never thought that would happen… WOW what a pleasure to be part of all this but ‘oh my’- what a week!
Tim got his surgical gloves and needle and got ready to take the jiggers out one by one. And in fairness kept his head down until every single jigger was dealt with…
Knowing it was such a painful thing, and seeing the boy with tears streaming down his face, there were times when we wanted to just stop and say it was all too much. But the evidence of the rotting feet just reminded us that it had to be done and so all you could do was hold onto a frightened, little hand and let it continue. Tim persevered to the end and deserves a medal. Even the father humbly came forward to have us help him which was a great sign.
It took a while to put right with the children what had just happened, but, they were forgiving enough and the following day greeted us with big smiles. You could already see some improvement and they had all benefited form a pain free sleep, possibly the first in years.
The children were all awarded with a new clean t-shirt which made them beam even more. As we had overlooked the Father, Tim gave him his creased paint shirt which strangely enough looked to be an improvement. It was a rewarding experience to watch him pulling up his collar and walking tall with a new sense of dignity.
The grandma told us that we had brought hope to the family again and she never thought that would happen… WOW what a pleasure to be part of all this but ‘oh my’- what a week!
Makes me feel ashamed for the times I moan about my shoes being uncomfortable. Thanks for keeping me in check. Keep up the amazing work. Love Emmaline xx
ReplyDeleteWell done to keep going even when the little ones were crying. It must have been hard but they will thank you in the end.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work.
Love
Helen x
Lizzie was explaining about jiggers on the way to Dundee. Crikes. Oh, by the way Jo, your message got read out at Dan and Vikki's wedding and we got all emotional!
ReplyDelete