Interview with Ahadi Kenya Trust
To give The Shoe That Grows on World Health Day, Because International has partnered with Ahadi Kenya Trust to distribute 1,000 pairs of shoes to kids at risk of jiggers. Ahadi Kenya Trust is an organization based in Kenya with a goal to eradicate jiggers and create a better life for people.
We spoke with Muthoni Muhunyo, communications director at the organization, to learn more about Ahadi Kenya Trust.
It seems like Ahadi Kenya Trust is creating a lasting impact for many people. For someone who is unfamiliar, what does Ahadi Kenya Trust do?
Muthoni: That is true. We are an impact-driven and centered organization.
Ahadi Kenya Trust aims to eradicate jiggers (Tunga penetrans) and prevent them from spreading. A jigger is a flea that infests warm-blooded animals, including humans. It burrows into the hosts' skin, feeds on their blood, enlarges, and then lays eggs. This flea infestation causes disease or even death.
Most people who have jiggers are stuck in a vicious poverty cycle. So we focus on breaking this cycle.
We provide tools to get out of poverty by empowering communities through creating awareness, intervening through medical treatment and making health care accessible. We develop sustainable solutions to give a better life for people and make them self-reliant by initiating livelihood projects that break the poverty cycle for communities. We invest in community focused capacity building to prevent harm. We are an advocate for human and civil rights.
In 2007, how did Ahadi Kenya Trust begin?
M: When Dr. Kamau, the founder and executive director, was growing up, his feet were infested with jiggers, making it difficult to walk. Twenty years later, after years of supporting the poor, he founded Ahadi Kenya Trust with other like-minded people who wanted to see change and were bold to tackle an issue that was highly stigmatized in society and not recognized by the government.
To whom will the pairs of The Shoe That Grows be going?
M: Lack of footwear is not only a super spreader of the virus but is one of the major causes of jigger infestation. Our Fukuza Funza na Kiatu campaign, which means “chasing jiggers with shoes,” distributes shoes to those who need them.
The Shoe That Grows will go to children and vulnerable people who are jigger infested or at risk.
What are the typical conditions for children who you work with?
M: People inflicted with jiggers are often isolated, stigmatized and neglected. They live in poor hygiene environments in small spaces with their animals. They attend schools that have a struggling infrastructure. And, due to stigmatization, they live in environments conducive to fleas.
Why do you think The Shoe That Grows will be a good solution for the children with whom you work?
M: Jiggers attack the feet more than any other body part. This affects their mobility and sometimes deforms their feet. Therefore, we recommend wearing shoes when feet heal from treatment to prevent further infestation. The children and vulnerable people who will benefit from this donation come from the underserved community, and they come from poor backgrounds who cannot afford shoes.
Shoes play a key role in preventing and stopping the spread to those at risk of attack because they go to school barefoot or in very worn-out shoes.
Shoes give dignity, boost esteem, and improve concentration and their school performance, providing kids with better chances in life.
What would you like supporters to know about the importance of jigger eradication and foot health?
M: Our approach is to break the vicious poverty cycle. Jiggers make people poorer and unable to rise out of poverty, hygiene and sanitation levels are low in their dwellings, and the cycle continues when poor people live in unhygienic and unsanitary dwellings. Their feet are jigger super spreaders; therefore, donating shoes is preventing a jigger and preventing poverty.
Thank you to Muthoni Muhunyo for sharing about the work and impact of Ahadi Kenya Trust. To support their efforts and meet immediate needs for children impacted by jiggers in Kenya, consider donating to fund The Shoe That Grows for Ahadi Kenya Trust to distribute. Make your donation and learn more about the fundraiser—because every child deserves a pair of shoes.
Photos courtesy of Cecilie Olaussen Photography