Something had infected young Manuela’s eyes. In the mornings, when she woke up, she couldn’t even open them.
Belicia, Manuela’s mother, worried about her daughter’s condition and took Manuela to a health center, seeking answers and help. Manuela had an eye infection and needed medication. But Belicia did not have the resources for medicine or further treatment, so Manuela’s condition remained.
Over the next couple of months, Belicia grew anxious about her daughter’s future. “What will happen?” Belicia asked herself. “Is she going to be blind?”
Would she be mocked by the other children? Manuela was already having difficulty playing with them. What about school? Would Manuela be able to attend school? If she couldn’t, how would that affect her future? What could Belicia do?
Belicia wanted to help financially support her family. Her husband went out every day to work, while she reserved most of her attention for her daughter, who needed her. Perhaps if Manuela could attend school, Belicia could also work.
Belicia’s struggle to obtain medical care is a challenge many people around the world face. In fact, there are approximately 4.6 billion people who lack essential health services.1 That’s over half the world’s population!2 Additionally, 2 billion people face severe financial hardship after getting treatment because of the cost.3
Many families in impoverished or rural areas have to decide between what it will cost them to get the treatment and what it will happen to them if they don’t. If a family’s sole provider gets sick, how long will it take before the family sinks further into poverty? If a child gets sick and develops complications due to their illness, what will their future look like? Will they even have a future, or will they die of a treatable disease?
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World Bank. "Universal Health Coverage." Accessed June 25, 2026. https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/topic/health/universal-health-coverage ↩
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World Population Clock. "World Population 2026." Accessed April 10, 2026. https://worldpopulationclock.net/world-population-2026/ ↩
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World Bank. "Universal Health Coverage." Accessed June 25, 2026. https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/topic/health/universal-health-coverage ↩
Too Good Not to Be True
But things were about to change for Belicia. Two months after Belicia visited the health center, exciting news came to her village. The child sponsorship program would be hosting a free medical camp! To the villagers, the idea of getting treatment or medicine without charge must have seemed like a modern-day miracle.
At free camps like this one, people are able to receive a diagnosis and medical help for a wide range of ailments. Doctors meet with participants, come up with a diagnosis and, either, treat the patients or refer them to a specialist. In some cases, when a specialist is needed, the doctors and staff will help the patient or the patient’s family find a way to get further treatment, even if they cannot afford it.
When Belicia first heard about the medical camp, she was a little incredulous. Belicia thought, “Nobody can come and give you medicine for free and do consultation for free.”
But maybe someone at the medical camp could help after all. Belicia began to hope that she could get some medicine for her daughter to be well. If Manuela’s eyes recovered, maybe she could go to school. And maybe Belicia could go to work to help support her family. Encouraged by this thought, Belicia took Manuela to go to the medical camp.
‘Sent by God’
Beneath a large tent, a long queue of people waited, many of whom Belica recognized. Some carried their babies or held their children’s hands. Some had traveled alone and some came with a spouse, friend or family member. Volunteers were there to help any participants who were unsure of where to go. As Belicia watched the staff and doctors interact with the participants, she saw their kindness and concern. “It seemed like they were sent by God to come and do the treatment,” she later commented.
After waiting for their turn, Belicia and Manuela went to their consultation. The medical staff examined Manuela, asked some questions and gave Belicia some medicine and ointment. They told her to apply the ointment three times a day and sent Belicia and Manuela home.
Now, Belicia had what she needed, but would it work? Were the medicine and ointment enough to help Manuela?
One week passed. Belicia followed the doctor’s instructions and started seeing improvements in her daughter's eyes. After one month, Manuela made a complete recovery! Relieved that her daughter’s suffering had ended, Belicia could now go to work freely without worrying about her family.
Manuela began to play with other children. She could now go to school without any issues with her eyes.
Belica thanked God. She knew that He had healed her daughter through the medical camp.
How Medical Camps Save Lives
Belicia’s family is just one of thousands that have been helped through GFA medical camps. By God’s grace, GFA hosts hundreds of similar medical camps each year. Through such camps, GFA’s child sponsorship staff and missionaries become examples of Jesus to the people who receive care from them.
Matthew 15:30 says, “Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them”
The people who come to these medical camps, like the multitudes who sought Jesus, cannot bring anything with them besides their illnesses. Yet, they leave with something priceless—not just medicine or advice, but with a knowledge of the Great Physician. You too can be a part of this incredible ministry! By supporting medical camps, you are partnering with GFA missionaries to help bring people the medical care they need, all while giving them a chance to encounter the God who loves them.