It’s difficult to remember that, just two days prior, she struggled to walk. 

In her remote Ugandan village, Jiggers—nearly invisible flesh-burrowing fleas—attacked Nafunya and her 7-year-old brother Wampi. A few jiggers are a nuisance. However, the problem grew into a painful and debilitating infestation. Gradually, the two children’s feet swelled with red inflammation.

Jiggers made moving difficult, and Nafunya became reluctant to attend school, where she faced stigma due to the jiggers.

When Nafunya first arrived, she gingerly climbed out of SoleHope’s van, walking on the outside edges of her feet like an ice skater stepping off the rink onto concrete. Then she turned to help her brother.

Shy on her first day at the clinic, Nafunya now acts as the oldest sibling to a small circle of girls staying at the Hope Center.  They gather on her bed at night, giggling quietly. The girls are thriving, and the staff tells how Nafunya’s sensitive eye for other people helped them transition well to the clinic. 

It’s no surprise when Nafunya says she wants to start a hotel like her mother, who owns a small, tin-roof establishment in the village.