Healing Begins When We Listen To Those Who Suffer with Jane Durgom-Powers (USA)

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Loss doesn’t pause for paperwork, borders, or neat definitions of war. Dr King sits down with Jane Durgum-Powers, founder and CEO of Families of the Missing, to unpack what it takes to support people living with disappearance, displacement, and the long tail of conflict. Jane Durgum-Powers shares how her organisation evolved from a UN-focused coalition on armed conflict to a global network that centres families’ voices across cultures and legal systems—and why renaming to Families of the Missing made their work easier to find, fund, and scale.

We talk through the tough moments that change lives: a survivor who breaks her silence, a former soldier who kneels to apologise, a room that shifts from anger to accountability.Jane Durgum-Powers explains how she builds mixed seminars in refugee camps, assesses readiness and risk, and creates space for dignity to take root. From licensing barriers and downsized offices to Zoom-driven partnerships, she lays out a practical playbook for NGOs navigating UN reforms, shrinking budgets, and the demand to collaborate with governments and business. The through-line is simple and radical: go to the people first, listen hard, and adapt the plan to what they say.

If you’ve ever wondered why statistics undercount suffering, this conversation brings the field into focus. We explore the hidden logistics that decide care—IDs for hospital access, mined roads that block legal work, travel funds that families don’t have—and how to build buffers into programmes so help reaches those who can’t reach you. Along the way, Jane offers a clear-eyed take on UN restructuring, what bottom-up and top-down strategies each unlock, and how shared grief can be the first step toward a durable peace.

Join us to hear a humane, grounded approach to humanitarian work that links hope to action. If this resonates, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review to help more listeners find these stories—and this path to practical compassion.

Music, lyrics, guitar and singing by Dr Ariel Rosita King

Teach me to live one day at a time
with courage love and a sense of pride.
Giving me the ability to love and accept myself
so I can go and give it to someone else.
Teach me to live one day at a time.....

The Business of Life
Dr Ariella (Ariel) Rosita King
Original Song, "Teach Me to Live one Day At A Time"
written, guitar and vocals by Dr. Ariel Rosita King

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