A Life That Shaped Our Work
There are people whose lives quietly shape movements; not through spotlight or recognition, but through presence, persistence, tenacity, and love.
Olgha Sierra Sandman was one of those.
Olgha was an original Board member of the National Farm Worker Ministry and a steady pillar of farm worker justice long before NFWM officially came into being. Her service stretched across more than five decades, rooted in deep faith, enduring relationships, courage, and profound respect for farm workers as leaders, teachers, and friends.
From the very beginning, Olgha understood what would become central to NFWM’s mission. Though charity is important, it is insufficient. NFWM’s priorities were accompaniment and advocacy, listening carefully, honoring farm worker leadership, and walking alongside their efforts for dignity, fairness, and respect.
From Calling to Lifelong Commitment
Born near Monterrey, México, Olgha came to the United States in 1950 to attend the Baptist Missionary Training School in Chicago, with the goal of overseas missionary work. During the summer of 1951, she worked with farm workers in east central Illinois through the National Council of Churches’ Migrant Ministry.
Seeing firsthand the conditions farm workers endured, what began for Olgha as seasonal outreach became a lifelong commitment. She returned year after year, helping churches aid migrant families, especially their children, and building community within labor camps.
In that work, Olgha met her husband, Rev. Dr. Robert “Bob” Sandman of the United Church of Christ. Married in 1955, they devoted their lives to a ministry rooted in justice, hospitality, and solidarity with farm workers.
In 1969-70, United Farm Workers president Cesar Chavez urged the Migrant Ministry to reconfigure and reorient into support of farm worker organizing efforts by advocating for consumer support in church congregations and parishes. That led to the formation of the National Farm Worker Ministry. Olgha was influential in NFWM from the very beginning, attending the pivotal organizing meeting in Atlanta in 1970 and the first formal Board meeting in La Paz, California, the following May.
Leadership, Organizing, and Lasting Impact
Olgha served on the NFWM Board for more than 55 years, including time as Board President and, briefly, as Interim Director following the death of Sister Pat Drydyk. She was a polite, caring, yet intense voice that reminded us of NFWM’s servanthood ministry: accompanying farm workers and advocating for their campaigns for economic and social justice. Almost literally everybody in the farm worker movement leadership knew Olgha and trusted her as the embodiment of NFWM’s mission.
Her leadership was regional as well. In 1974, when Bob went to a pastorate in Peoria, Illinois, Olgha became the first Director of the Illinois Farm Worker Ministry (IFWM), a role she held until 1992. She helped launch the Illinois Farm Worker Service Center (Onarga, IL) in 1981, creating a vital hub for support and advocacy. She also played a role in advancing the Illinois Field Sanitation Act of 1982, which required clean drinking water and portable toilets for farm workers, a tangible policy victory.
In the 1980s, Olgha also became what she lovingly called a “surrogate attorney,” helping more than 300 farm workers in Illinois apply for permanent legal status. She met workers in church basements and borrowed offices, often late into the night, ensuring each person was treated with dignity and care.
Those who worked alongside Olgha remember her as tireless and joyful. She showed up to meetings, protests, and acts of witness well into her later years. One fellow organizer recalled protesting with Olgha outside a McDonald’s around the year 2000:
“She was still going strong.”
Relationships at the Heart of the Work
When asked what mattered most to her, Olgha never spoke of accomplishments or recognition. Instead, she spoke of relationships.
“You learn to love the people,” she once said, “and you begin to appreciate that the food that comes to your table would not come to our table unless you had people in the fields, bending over and bending over, day after day, sun up to sun down.”
She often reflected on the deep friendships she formed with farm workers and their families.
“I knew farm workers by name, by home,” she said. “I went into their homes, and they would say, ‘Stay and eat with us,’ and they’d just put more water in the soup or the beans. The farm workers were my friends. I loved them, and they loved me. That’s a richness I will never lose.”
Carrying Her Legacy Forward
In 1992, Bob and Olgha retired and spent a year working with refugees in Turkey. Even then, Olgha continued her service with NFWM, remaining active on the Board and steadfast in her support for farm workers and la causa.
In 2015, she was honored by the Illinois Labor History Society for her decades of leadership and for her contributions to justice “from farm to table.” True to form, Olgha deflected praise, insisting that the true honor was being allowed to serve.
Olgha passed away on January 27, 2026, surrounded by love, reunited — as her family shared — with those she cherished deeply. Her absence will be felt by all who knew her, and her legacy will continue to guide the work of NFWM.
As we move forward, we do so with gratitude for Olgha’s example as a reminder that justice is built patiently, faithfully, and together.
In Olgha’s own words:
“When you work for justice, you can’t afford to be a sprinter; you must be a long-distance runner.”
Olgha Sierra Sandman — ¡Presente!
