BLACKSBURG, Va. – Changing lives, one step at a time, a Blacksburg nonprofit is working to provide prosthetics to soldiers and civilians in Ukraine who are now amputees due to the war with Russia.
“Hope to Walk is an organization that provides prosthetic legs and arms to the most impoverished people in the world,” said Phillip Johnson, founder of Hope to Walk.
The organization has been helping people around the world for more than 10 years.
“I went with a group from VCOM Virginia Tech and saw a need in Honduras, and that is where our first clinic started. Since then, we have set up in seven countries,” said Johnson. “In Guatemala, we have a clinic there. We go in first thing in the morning; we usually have four to six patients every day, some of them come from other countries.”
He said prosthetics can normally cost thousands of dollars, but they have reduced that price to a fraction of the cost.
“A leg kit is $250,” said Johnson. “The average below-knee prosthetic today starts at $13,000 to $15,000, and that’s for a very inexpensive one. We raise money in the U.S. and other countries, and we provide these prosthetics to impoverished people for free.”
Now, Johnson is hoping to help people in Ukraine who need prosthetics.
“They estimate that 50% of the amputations that have happened during the war are children, and these will be the ones that are pushed to the end of the line,” Johnson said.
Have the day's biggest stories arrive in your inbox every day at 8 p.m.
I also spoke with a team member from Hope to Walk, who shared the impact of their work.
“When they walk for the first time, you can see the tears. They can’t even believe it,” said Max Faublas, a team member. “They mostly get to the clinic not knowing that they are going to leave that place walking that same day, and we build them a leg in less than two hours.”
The goal is to help as many people as possible.
“It changes our lives, it changes the lives of the people, their families, their friends, their neighborhoods, and also for themselves. ” said Johnson. “You’ve giving them dignity.”
If you would like to get involved, you can donate here.
Buzz4Good is hosting a fundraiser in support of Hope to Walk. A link to the fundraiser can be found here.
