House of Hope a natural for mission aid

Local News

HOW TO HELP

North Country Mission of Hope is gearing up for its annual February trip to Nicaragua. The Advance Team goes Feb. 14 and returns Feb. 26; the main contingent of the total 47 missioners heads out Feb. 17 and comes home Feb. 24.

The truck that delivered supplies to the House of Hope was stolen soon after and there seems little chance it might be recovered. So its replacement is a key need.

To donate, send checks to: North Country Mission of Hope, P.O. Box 2522, Plattsburgh, NY 12901. Now, too, the organization accepts donations by credit card and PayPal. Go to www.ncmissionofhope.org and click on "donate."

Related Photos

Two children at House of Hope in Nicaragua. All those who live at the facility have been affected by human trafficking and prostitution. Photo Provided/ersion 1.00
Mission of Hope volunteer Kathy Eppler embraces Yosidada at the House of Hope in Nicaragua. The girl lives there after her rescue from prostitution.

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.

comments powered by Disqus

February 7, 2011

SUZANNE MOORE News Editor The Press Republican Mon Feb 07, 2011, 02:28 AM EST

PLATTSBURGH — Yosidada's family sold her for what amounts to $7.50.

Not even a teenager yet, the Nicaraguan girl was forced to satisfy the sexual urges of the clientele of the Managua hotel that bought her.

Another young girl was sold on the street by her parents in exchange for money to buy food for the rest of the family. Her purchaser? A pimp.

"And they say there are many more hundreds (of girls) like them," said Sister Debbie Blow, executive director of North Country Mission of Hope. "It's one of the hidden problems in Nicaragua."

HOUSE OF HOPE

Blow and others who volunteer with the humanitarian aid organization based in Plattsburgh met those children on a recent trip to Nicaragua. Rescued from prostitution, they live at Casa D'esperanza, a safehouse located just a couple of miles from Mission of Hope's headquarters in Chiquilistagua.

"We didn't even know it was there," Blow said.

Run by Americans, the facility — in English, "House of Hope," and no connection to Mission of Hope — exists to give a way out to women and girls forced to resort to prostitution, victims of human trafficking and their children.

Seventy women and children live there; 20 girls ages 9 to 16 have their own dormitory, taking great pride in the small space they call their own with beds and a little cubby for their few belongings.

"This bed is only mine," a child named Gloria whispered in Spanish in Sister Debbie Blow's ear. "No one can get in it with me."

Those damaged girls clung to the women who visited them.

"For those moments, I was the surrogate mother," said hope veteran Kathy Eppler, tears threatening. "As a mom, you don't want to let go.

"They are starved for love and appropriate affection."

TOP PRIORITY

Another 300 to 400 women find their way to the House of Hope on Tuesdays to make jewelry and other items to sell.

"If they make a sale, they don't have to sell themselves," Blow said. "They're learning trades, including sewing, so they can support themselves."

The mission of that House of Hope jibes perfectly with Mission of Hope's work. Clinical psychologist Dr. Mariel Juliano Ph.D., a volunteer provided through the Catholic Medical Mission Board, has since her arrival in November 2010 counted women's issues among her highest priorities. Funds from Blow's order, the Dominican Sisters of Hope, is specifically aimed at helping women and children who are victims of human trafficking. And the organization counts another safehouse, in Managua, among its projects.

In January, a first truck of supplies from Mission of Hope made the slow journey on the dirt road to the House of Hope, circumventing deep gullies and other obstructions.

Food, clothing and medical supplies made a small dent in the need, Blow said.

But Mission of Hope is widening its net of aid to give more assistance. Leaders are awaiting an estimate for vital plumbing repairs and are assessing other ways to help.

JOY AND PAIN

The most tragic of those is also the most difficult to meet.

At the House of Hope, the girls lock the doors to their dorm every night so they feel safe, and their caregivers lock them in, as well.

In moments of weakness or even loneliness, they might go back to what was most familiar, the missioners were told.

It amazed Blow and Eppler that girls who'd been sold into slavery, who'd been so violated, could find happiness in the simple gift of friendship extended to them by the kindly Americans.

"I never looked in a teenager's eyes and saw such a dichotomy of joy and pain," Blow said. "(Their plight) is a tragedy not only of their society, but of our society, too," Blow said. "If there were no customers (for prostitutes), this reality would not exist."

House of Hope is supported by donations by individuals and churches in the United States. There's a school nearby, but it might well be on the moon for some House of Hope children, for the safehouse can't afford the uniforms, socks and shoes required by students.

"These kids need to be educated, they need to be appropriately loved and have a possibility of hope and love," Blow said.

Later this month, Mission of Hope sends a group of 47 to work on numerous projects in Nicaragua. An orphanage roof needs repair, home shelters will be built to replace shacks of plastic and sticks, the sick and old in remote locations will be visited, food will be distributed ...

Among the goods to be put to use will be 25 dresses for little girls stitched by Emilie "Nan" Mitchell of Peru with hopes of joy for those who would don them.

"I was thinking the House of Hope is the perfect place to bring them," Blow said.

E-mail Suzanne Moore at: smoore@pressrepublican.com