The struggles the world has faced this year have made one thing painfully clear: one person’s health impacts the entire community.

Even as the world grapples with the global pandemic, Uganda is battling another crippling disease: jiggers. A small sand flea, it burrows into a person’s feet and latches onto blood vessels. Within days, it swells to over 1,000 times its size while continuously laying eggs. Where one goes, thousands follow.

Jiggers are endemic in Uganda. Devastating infestation has crippled adults and children alike, isolating them from school, work and community support. As their health suffers, the infected face heavy social stigma from the widespread belief that jiggers are a curse and, somehow, those infected deserve to suffer.

At Sole Hope, we know this is not true. No one deserves to suffer. We have worked for years to show that jiggers can be treated and prevented. With your support, Sole Hope will continue to offer hope and healing to the most vulnerable. This is the time to make a difference that can change someone’s life:

· $50 could provide a month long stay for a patient at the Hope Center.

· $100 could provide an Economic Empowerment Package for a family.

· $250 could provide professional development for our staff.

· $500 could provide two Mini Clinics.

· $1,000 could service and fuel our vehicles for a month.

We need you to give because reality has shown us that every second counts. When we went to the home of a young girl known to be suffering from jiggers, we found the house boarded up with the door nailed shut. With a rock, a Sole Hope social worker pried the nails away and found Kolofona inside, malnourished and unable to walk due to the hundreds of jiggers embedded in her feet. She had been left to die.

Kolofona was brought to the Hope Center and spent weeks regaining her health. It was not easy, but the young girl never gave up hope. Her wounds healed and as the days passed, Kolofona regained her life. She ate healthy meals. She laughed with other kids. She learned to walk again.

This Christmas, you can partner with Sole Hope to serve thousands of others like Kolofona. Our ability to reach those who have been abandoned depends on the hope people like you have for a better, healthier future. We know that jiggers can present complex problems, but the solutions are simple and within our reach: healthcare, education and compassion.

Because of jiggers, men and women are left isolated and in debilitating pain.

Because of jiggers, children lose the ability to walk.

It is time to give your support. It is time to give HOPE