Consolidated Bank’s Director, Ambassador Charles Amira (L)
Consolidated Bank of Kenya has partnered with anti-jigger champions – Ahadi Kenya Trust – to launch a campaign aimed at eliminating jiggers in Isiolo County. The campaign dubbed ‘Usafi Bora Maisha Bora’ includes having more than 300 individuals undergo treatment for this preventable disease and will saw distribution of shoes to at least five schools at Isiolo Stadium.
Speaking about the campaign, Consolidated Bank’s Board Chairman Dr. Benson Ateng said, “Consolidated Bank is keen to preserve and promote human values as well as the social and cultural value systems within our communities. This is what drives our commitment to partner with organizations like Ahadi Trust, a remarkable organization led by a visionary, Dr. Stanley Kamau, who has inspired thousands of people across the world to join him in his mission to eradicate poverty in our communities brought about by a small creature called a jigger.â€
The Ahadi Kenya Trust vision started in 2007, when Dr. Kamau realized the impact of jigger infestation and its direct link to poverty within his community. Ahadi Kenya Trust has reached over 300,000 people through its treatment programs and has fumigated over 15,000 homes to date. The NGO has maintained its razor-sharp focus on jigger eradication by employing innovative jigger eradication strategies primarily aimed at creating awareness on the jigger menace across East Africa as well as setting up help centers to provide treatment, medication, rehabilitation and fumigation services.
Through campaigns such as the Usafi Bora Maisha Bora initiative in Isiolo, Ahadi Kenya Trust has leveraged the support of partners like Consolidated Bank to distribute 23,000 pairs of shoes, clothing to schools and communities in an effort to help with rehabilitation of the children who had previously dropped out of school as result of jigger infestation.
According to Dr. Stanley Kamau founder of Ahadi Kenya Trust, “It is still of great concern to us that there is no comprehensive survey that has been carried out to date on the prevalence of jigger infestation. Through our own efforts we have established that there are over 2.6 million jigger infested Kenyans whom we have registered, this is a clear sign that many people have been suffering from jigger infestation in silence. We urge the Government to continue working with us to generate an all-inclusive report on the disease.â€
Consolidated bank has also presented a cheque of Ksh.890,000 to Ahadi Kenya Trust.