|
 Home  About Us |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
About Us  As a spiritually-based humanitarian organization, the North Country Mission of HopeSM is committed to fostering hope and empowering relationships with the people of Nicaragua through sustainable programs in education, healthcare, community and ecological development. We are a 501(c)(3) corporation and incorporated as a non-governmental organization with the government of Nicaragua.The North Country Mission of HopeSM began in 1998 as a direct ministerial response to the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Mitch on the impoverished villages of Chiquilistagua and Monte Verde in Nicaragua. The first mission team immediately recognized that direct, long-term assistance was vital in order to improve the lives of the people. Working hand-in-hand with local community leaders, the Mission's primary objective is to empower the people to help themselves through ECO, Education, Community Development and Healthcare projects. In addition, by enlightening the area student and adult missioners to the conditions and needs of the poor, we are able to bring about changes in our own communities. In August, 2008 Photojournalist Jared Stanley, working with Mountain Lakes Public Broadcasting Studio (PBS), traveled down with mission #29 to the town of Chiquilistagua, Nicaragua, a village southeast of the capital city Managua. For 7 days he followed the volunteers on their daily outreach to capture not only the transformation of the Nicaraguan people, but the Mission of Hope volunteers as well. Jared's video won a 2009 Murrow Award for "best documentary" for television stations across New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The Edward R. Murrow awards given out by the RTNDA (Radio & Television News Directors Association) are regarded as one of the most prestigious journalism awards -- and receiving it is a real feather-in-the-cap for Jared personally -- and our news and documentary production department at MLPBS. "Colin supervised the editing, but Jared pretty much did everything else from shooting to producing to editing”. It’s a great video and one we are proud to host on our website. Click here to view the video. Our Mission Volunteers come from everywhere! The Mission has expanded to include students from numerous high schools and colleges, and a widely diverse group of good-willed adults. High school and college students form about half the group, while the other half is comprised of medical, educational, technical, environmental, and business developmental professionals. The Mission continues to grow and needs volunteers in all areas. Whether you're interested in traveling to Nicaragua or prefer to work at home, we encourage you to get involved. Working together we can make a difference! "As the traveler who has once been from home is wiser than he who has never left his own doorstep, so a knowledge of one other culture should sharpen our ability... to appreciate more lovingly our own." ~ Margaret Mead, Coming of Age in Samoa
|
Mission Statistics