A Boy Named Elvis

Elvis, not a name that you would expect to hear in a rural village in Kenya to be sure, but seems to fit him quite well. I met Elvis the first week of my trip in Kenya this summer. The Assistant Chief of Sirembe told us that we needed to meet Elvis and see how this 11 yr old boy was forced to live. We walked through various cornfields until we came upon his mud hut. Elvis was sitting and staring— with the most severe case of “jiggers” that I have ever seen—his grandmother was passed out on the ground next to him.  “Jiggers” are parasitic sand fleas that burrow into hands and feet through nail beds and eat muscle tissue. They thrive in the red dirt floors of homes and the school in our area. This combined with the lack of footwear in Sirembe makes for a pretty serious problem.

Later that day Patrick (our Nurse at JCO Children’s Centre) and I took Elvis to the closest clinic. Patrick proceeded to treat Elvis’s jiggers by soaking his hands and feet in bleach and then using a needle to pick out each flea—one by one. Although he was in serious pain, I could see the relief on Elvis’s face—the itching had finally stopped!

Patrick continued to treat him in weeks following and now Elvis is as good as new. He joined our family shortly after and became a new resident at JCO Children’s Centre. He is playing soccer, running, coloring pictures, and learning to read and write in English through our tutor. His new “siblings” welcomed him with open arms! This young man who seemed so angry and miserable that first day I met him, now seems to be bursting with joy in his new home. Amazing what basic necessities and a little love will do…

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