It was August 31, 2012—exactly one month into my new job as a Field Coordinator—when the minibus I was traveling in overturned into a canal. I was on my way back from a training visit, carrying a bag filled with health insurance cards for the families. These cards were a lifeline, giving children access to quality healthcare. At that time, only 1,000 out of 8,000 children in our program were covered.
I had been sitting in the very last seat of the bus. Strangely, the window next to me had already been broken before the accident, leaving me untouched by flying glass. Others weren’t as lucky. Panic set in as we sank deeper into the water. The passenger next to me, desperate to escape, tried to break the rear window. He struck it three times but failed. Looking back, I realized that if he had succeeded, I would have been directly beneath a rain of broken glass.
As I struggled to get out of the water, one thought gripped me: the bag of insurance cards had fallen into the canal. My heart sank. What if a child needed urgent medical care? What if someone required surgery? Replacing those cards could take months.
When we reported the accident to the health insurance company, something incredible happened. They decided to extend free health insurance to all 8,000 children in our program.
Then, a few weeks later, an unexpected call came from the local police station. They had recovered almost all the insurance cards that had been lost in the water (only 20 of them were lost).
By God’s grace, I emerged from that accident miraculously unharmed. But more than that, what seemed like a disaster turned into an unexpected blessing—every child in our program gained access to the healthcare they deserved.