A few years ago, they were the lowest of the low living in squalor, ravaged by hunger and vermin.
For this group, putting food on the table was a mirage and mobility was firmly restricted to waddling around their compounds.
Even so, one walked beyond the village centre if it was absolutely necessary and the more than 100 survivors who lived like outcasts in Gachagi slums, Makongeni in Thika sub-county can now dare to dream.
The villagers, united by Ahadi Kenya Trust, are now proud owners of a banana plantation with more than 2,000 plants. The farm has the capacity to generate a minimum of Sh600,000 each year.
Mercy Njeri, whose household was attacked by jiggers, says the villagers came together and formed the Kigumo-Ahadi self-help group, which is registered with the government.
"We decided to start banana farming and use the proceeds to support ourselves and educate the children," she said when journalists visited the farm.
She says a bunch of bananas from the farm, established with support from Kenya Commercial Bank Foundation, can sell for Sh300 at the local market thus the farm can yield 100 bunches of bananas per week.
Ahadi Kenya Trust Executive Director Stanley Kamau last weekend witnessed the first harvesting of over 200 bunches from the farm.
Apart from the communal plantation, each beneficiary of the programme was given five banana plants for their own farms, which have also matured.
"It has improved their livelihood after rehabilitation. We have seen several jigger survivors build their own homes, with some even looking for women to marry," said Dr Kamau.
He added “Thika is just an example of the project beneficiaries but we also have others like Kigumo in Murang’a County among others.”
Many of the children who had dropped out of primary schools due to severe jigger infestation are also back in class.