Dominican Sisters of Hope State senate honors sister as ‘woman of distinction’

Sister Debbie Blow, OP, a co-founder of the North Country Mission of Hope, will be recognized in Albany, New York, May 7 as a New York State Senate Woman of Distinction. Senator Betty Little has nominated Sister Debbie for the recognition, citing her leadership in organizing a sustained humanitarian mission to Nicaragua that, since 1998, has provided healthcare to more than 60,000 people, educated hundreds of students, constructed more than 500 homes, as well as classrooms, a library and community development center, and fed thousands of malnourished children through the Children Feeding Children Program.

“Plans for the North Country Mission of Hope’s 50th mission trip are underway, so this is certainly a fitting time to recognize Sister Debbie for her extraordinary work,” said Little. “Tens of thousands of lives have been transformed for the better due to her vision and dedication, and the more than 1,300 volunteers who have made numerous trips to Nicaragua. This mission not only has provided Nicaraguans living in poverty critically important tangibles like housing, healthcare and food, but a sense of hope, a remarkable gift.”

Sister Debbie, a Dominican Sister of Hope, co-founded the mission in response to Hurricane Mitch, which killed more than 22,000 people in Central America in 1998. A Nicaraguan student whom Sister Debbie helped rescue when the family escaped civil war in the 1980s informed her of the storm’s impact on the poverty-stricken country.

The New York State Senate Woman of Distinction event honors outstanding woman from across New York State for their professional and volunteer work to enrich the lives of others.