In this episode of the Helping Hands Podcast we speak with Sister Debbie Blow, the founder of BGR project partner North Country Mission of Hope and, until very recently, its executive director. Sister Debbie dedicated the last 24 years of her life to working with the Mission of Hope, serving the most marginalized populations, in particular poor communities in Nicaragua. Sister Debbie has devoted her life to what Buddhists would call the “bodhisattva path,” deriving her life’s purpose from serving the welfare of others.

In today’s episode, we discuss the events that led Sister Debbie to establish the North Country Mission of Hope and, specifically, her transformative journey to Nicaragua after the devastation of Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Sister Debbie talks passionately about the work her organization has done in Nicaragua over the years and the countless obstacles that the Mission has encountered along the way. She describes the importance of engaging local communities and especially women and youth in the Mission’s work. We learned what Sister Debbie means by “gracious vulnerability” and how we can engage more fully with the communities we wish to serve.

Alongside Haiti, Nicaragua is the poorest county in the Western Hemisphere. Poverty, violence, natural disasters, and oppressive political regime make the Mission’s work challenging. But Sister Debbie has been undeterred in her mission. The Americans who volunteer their time and resources are just as impacted by this work; as Sister Debbie says, coming together has created a global community of purpose and hope.

Support the work of Buddhist Global Relief with a tax-deductible donation at buddhistglobalrelief.org/donate.

Hosted by Daniel Blake
Intro music by Daniel Blake, danielblake.net
Episode notes by Kate Zemlo
Additional research by Chot Elliott
“Room At the Table” by Carrie Newcomer

Episode 5- “That’s Where the Hope Existed” (Sister Debbie Blow)” by Buddhist Global Relief is licensed under a Creative Commons License.