The Mission Reaches Further Than the Map
By Helen Griffiths
When I was invited to join the Operation Walk New York team for their October 2025 mission to Ghana, I was deeply honored. After experiencing a short period of mobility challenges and undergoing two life-changing hip surgeries, I felt like a bridge between the surgeons and the patients.
Sadly, I’ve had to make the hard decision not to travel with the team. My body is finally strong enough to do things I hadn’t done easily in years, and the invitation to go, to serve, to witness, was exciting. However, other medical issues are such that this is a dream which wasn’t going to come true.
But staying behind doesn’t mean I can’t contribute. I’ve been making wool rugs from the fleece of my sheep to support the auction at the team’s annual golf tournament; helping raise awareness for this amazing program and doing a little of my own fundraising. My main contribution, is however to continue to write the weekly pieces for the face book page.
Even before the cargo leaves the dock, I am reminded, you don’t have to cross an ocean to make an impact. You just have to offer what you have: your skills, your time, and your voice to support healing and hope.
The patients the team will meet in Ghana are young, some still in their teens, most under 40, and many have lived with severe joint conditions for years, without access to care and little hope of it, other than through Operation Walk New York. The strength and resilience they display is humbling. Compared to their long journeys, my own mobility challenges were brief—and the care I received is a gift I will never forget or take for granted.
When I accepted the invite to join Operation Walk New York, it was with the intention to give. And I do; but what I didn’t expect was how much I would receive in return; purpose, connection, and the profound gift of being able to contribute to something larger than myself. Even though I won’t be traveling with the team, I still feel included, seen, and useful; these are no small things.
My gratitude goes to the Operation Walk New York team; a group of amazing humans, who made space for me to contribute in my own way.
I’ll continue to contribute; in words, in wool, and in spirit.
-Written by Helen Griffiths, Op Walk NY Stateside Volunteer
Operation Walk New York is a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization.
To learn more about Operation Walk New York or donate check the website: https://operationwalknewyork.org/
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