Looking at 9-year-old Sucila Pathras, one would never guess that a short time ago she was suffering from a tumor and was crawling on the floor. In 2000, her father was brutally killed by a rival tribal group. Sucila's widowed mother brought her to the Miracle Girl's Home (EI-203) to be registered in the Compassion program.
Bleak Conditions
The Miracle Girl's Home works in a tribal community in the hills of Bhagaiya, India, home to approximately 80,000 residents. Typical houses are constructed of dirt floors, mud walls and thatch roofs. The primary ethnic group is Malto.
The Maltos depend on farming for their livelihood. They are a socially ostracized community and lack many of the basics, such as adequate nutrition, health care facilities and steady work. Most adults are unemployed but some work as day laborers and earn the equivalent of U.S.$13 per month.
The water supply is not safe and the sanitary conditions are poor. Electricity is not available in many areas. Common health problems include malnutrition, tuberculosis, epilepsy, kala-azar (parasitic disease) and malaria. Against this bleak backdrop, Compassion sponsorship allows the staff of Miracle Girl's Home to provide many children with Bible teaching, medical checkups, vaccinations, hygiene supplies, nutritious meals, recreational activities and life-skills training.
Blessed Intervention
Sucila was a normal, healthy child when she came to the Miracle Girl's Home but in January 2003, she developed a small swelling in the back of her neck. A few days later she could not walk. She was taken to the hospital and given medication but she did not respond.
For specialized treatment, Sucila was taken to a city hospital but her condition worsened. So the project staff took her to the Christian Medical College at Vellore, South India, for additional treatment but she returned to the girl's home in the same condition. We could do nothing but pray and encourage her that God alone could heal her.
God heard the little one's prayers. Sucila is now completely healed and able to walk and run normally like her friends. She and her mother say they will forever be grateful to Compassion and the sponsor who supported them through this time of sickness.
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