In the remote village of Margi, tucked away between uneven fields and broken roads, time seems to move slower. After the recent floods, the people of Margi were left stranded, cut off from the nearest town, without medical aid, electricity, or the most basic facilities. When our Miles2Smile team began its rounds of post-flood relief work there, we thought we had seen most of the damage: submerged homes, destroyed crops, and weary faces. But sometimes, the deepest wounds are found in the smallest stories.
As our volunteers moved from one house to another, distributing food packets and hygiene kits, a worried father approached them. He was holding his little daughter, barely three years old, her right leg wrapped hastily in a piece of cloth. The child’s eyes were filled with pain and confusion, her small face pale from fever and fright. The father’s trembling voice broke as she explained that the little girl had been accidentally burned by hot tea a few days earlier.
In Margi, there is no hospital. No doctor visits. The roads to the nearest clinic had been washed away by the floods. For days, the family had been trying to treat the wound at home, cleaning it with whatever they could find. The pain had only worsened. They had lost hope.
But when they saw our Miles2Smile team walking through the village, they remembered hearing about us before about the work we had done for flood victims in nearby areas, about how we bring food, medicine, and dignity where help rarely reaches. And so, they trusted us first.
Without wasting a moment, our team sprang into action. One of our volunteers, got them in touch with doctors where trained individuals in first aid, gently unwrapped the cloth and cleaned the burn using sterile water and antiseptic. Another professional fetched emergency medical kit, applying burn ointment and dressing the wound carefully while the child whimpered softly. We reassured the parents that we would not leave them alone.
That evening, we coordinated with our local network to arrange further medical support from a nearby town. We ensured that the child received antibiotics, pain relief, and follow-up care. Our team visited again the next morning to check on her.
For the parents, that moment of care meant more than just medical help it meant being seen, being remembered, and being held by a community larger than their village.
In the corners of flood-hit Margi, amidst all the loss and despair, a small child’s pain brought a village together. Her tears turned into a smile a reminder of why Miles2Smile continues to walk these broken paths, reaching where no one else goes.
Because sometimes, healing begins not in hospitals, but in the compassion that travels on muddy roads with those who refuse to give up on humanity.
