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February 11, 2010

Nicaragua flights booked for all Mission of Hope volunteers

By SUZANNE MOORE The Press Republican Thu Feb 11, 2010, 10:28 PM EST

PLATTSBURGH — Hope never quite died.

By late Thursday evening, Sister Debbie Blow and her volunteers had conjured up enough seats for all of the North Country Mission of Hope missioners who'd thought their February trip to Nicaragua had been canceled.

"I didn't want to give up on it," said the Plattsburgh-based humanitarian-aid organization's executive director, who began making calls at 3 a.m. Thursday, organizing air travel for groups of two and three.

Wednesday's massive blizzard in the mid-Atlantic states had not only grounded the connecting flight from Newark that the group of 39 needed to make but any other possible prospects of transport. So Blow had, for the first time in the group's 11-year history, announced the main body of volunteers would not make it to Nicaragua.

The Advance Team, already there, would be joined by just two volunteers from other parts of the country to undertake what could be managed short-handed.

But some success in the early morning hours encouraged Blow, as did the wholehearted willingness of every single volunteer to bear higher airfare costs and other difficulties involved with the unexpected change in plans.

"This is crazy," said Patrick Daly, 16, of Peru, taking a breather from the frenetic effort at Seton Catholic Central School, where he was moving suitcases of supplies for reassignment, phoning volunteers about the change in plans.

"I'm doing whatever's asked," he said.

Daly and his dad got e-mails Wednesday saying the trip was off, maybe on, then off for sure.

"I was like, yeah, right," Daly said. "I thought it was a joke — no way the mission was canceled.

"Then reality set in. I was so depressed — I'd been looking forward to it for half a year."

Daly, who took part in last February's mission, could already imagine the joy among the Nicaraguans who'd thought most missioners wouldn't make it this time.

"They look forward to it like Christmas — like we do," he said.

Dr. Kathleen Camelo, director of Health Services at Plattsburgh State, had been extremely disappointed that Mother Nature had wrecked the mission's plans.

Her thoughts were for the Nicaraguans who would not receive the health care and other services the mission would have provided.

Now, she'll leave Sunday for Nicaragua with some other volunteers.

"We've been very successful," she said of the time spent on computer and phone finding flights.

The logistics of finding transport for a total 38 travelers — including one who'd originally planned to leave from Newark — boil down to various flights between this morning into Sunday from three different airports, in Burlington, Montreal and Newark.

"They all will be there (Managua) by noon Monday," Blow said.

Getting everyone from the Managua airport to mission headquarters in Chiquilistagua would pose some difficulties, she expected, "but at this point, that will be the least of the challenges.

Laughing, Blow added that she hadn't yet been able to reach the Advance Team to announce the good news.

With all mission members on track to tackle the multiple projects planned before the disruption, she said, "it looks like everything is going to be a go.

"It's going to mean long days and short nights," she said.

But the volunteers were willing to do whatever it would take to keep the mission rolling.

And Blow and mission co-founder Yamilette Flores could now stand in as family at the wedding of past volunteer Jeremy Eppler.

"This whole experience is bringing me to tears," Blow said. "The people's support — yesterday and today — it says something about the caliber of people I get to work with."

Blow, who was able to find a flight to Nicaragua with one lone student late Sunday, was about overcome by all that had transpired.

"It's been an incredible networking experience."

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