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HEAR FROM OUR SCHOLARS
Scholarship Students Worldwide
4 schools of medical care provided on medical missions
Service trips conducted
%
Wealth increase for scholarship graduates
Patients served on Medical Missions
3 service groups can complete a home
FROM OUR VOLUNTEERS
I’m so happy that I went on this trip. The joy that people have in Guatemala is incredible. It’s bittersweet: When I went to Guatemala and I was serving people, it was the happiest I’ve ever been in my life, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be that happy again.
Medical Missions like this allow you to come home and look at your own patients a different way. I think it’s very rewarding, both personally and professionally.
We did this exercise where we had to buy a week’s worth of groceries on $7, and it was absolutely eye-opening. It was really hard, and what I came up with wasn’t food that I wanted to eat. But that’s the reality for them. I get a Starbucks every morning that costs as much as their food for their whole family for the whole week.
Note: We are committed to respecting and uplifting our scholars. Due to some stories containing sensitive information, we redact or change the names of the scholars, their parents, their schools, and other details that could compromise their anonymity.
Women Changing the World
Three years ago, we shared this story about the dangers of sexual assault that women and girls face working in dumpsites. Kathleen, a good friend to this organization and to me, who also happens to run a trucking company, asked how she could help. My daughter, Julia, was working closely with the Samaritan Girls Club in Ethiopia, and when she asked them the same question a few weeks later, they all shook their heads no. There was nothing we could do, they assured us. When assaults occur, it’s a girl’s word against a man’s, and the local police don’t have the interest or time to get involved.
“What about pepper spray?” Julia asked. The girls all laughed at her. “This is not America,” they said. “We don’t do that here.”
“What about learning self-defense then?” Julia asked. The girls were immediately interested but didn’t see how it could happen. ”Maybe if you are a boy and have money, maybe then you could get into a karate club at a really good school…”
They were all convinced that girls would never get a chance to learn self-defense where they live in Kore. That was all that Selam, our fearless leader, needed to hear. Within hours she had a budget for uniforms and was making calls to find a trainer. I shared this information with Kathleen, and she has been supporting these girls ever since.
Taekwondo, with a focus on self-defense for women, is held twice a week in the Weingartz Family Life Center in Ethiopia.
Close to 100 girls from Kore have been trained in taekwondo since then, and 40 are taking two lessons every week this year. The internal confidence they have gained exceeds the obvious strength in their physical skills.
A few months ago, a couple of older teenage boys attacked one of our girls and her mother to steal their phone. What idiots! They got their butts kicked, and our scholar was able to keep her family’s phone.
Don’t mess with Samaritan Scholars! In Kore, they will go all Jack Reacher on you.
As we go into this Mother’s Day weekend, I wanted to share this message not just as a reminder of the strength of women amidst the horrific challenges they face in our communities, but also as an encouragement that there is no such thing as a hopeless situation with God, especially when His people stop to ask how they can help.
With much gratitude to all of you giving so generously to make miracles and good things happen for our scholars all across the world, please enjoy this video from our team in Ethiopia. (Be sure to turn the volume up!)
Watch some of our Samaritan Scholars in action during a taekwondo class.
Mike Tenbusch, President
Mike joined International Samaritan in 2018 after two decades of leading social change in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan. He’s a University of Michigan Law grad and author of The Jonathan Effect: Helping Kids and Schools Win the Battle Against Poverty. He and his wife, Maritza, have three children who keep them young.
Women Changing the World
Three years ago, we shared this story about the dangers of sexual assault that women and girls face working in dumpsites. Kathleen, a good friend to this organization and to me, who also happens to run a trucking company, asked how she could help. My daughter, Julia,...
It Starts With Us
Working with our Samaritan Scholars, the team and I see how vital it is for them to stay in school. We want the best for them, so we encourage them to keep studying and working to achieve their goals, no matter what obstacles they have to climb. Then, as so often...
When Nothing’s For Dinner
Our team meeting this past week was a tough one. Each week, we discuss the 100 or so “connections'' that our team members recorded the week before about their one-on-one meetings with our Samaritan Scholars or their parents around the world. These conversations tend...
Faith, Hope, Love
I see our organization as a beacon of light, a force for good. The Samaritan Scholars and team members I work with are a testament to the boundless power of faith, hope, and love to transform lives and uplift communities.FaithAt the heart of International Samaritan...
A 180-Degree Turn
Working as our Program Director in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, I regularly see one of the worst forms of child labor: children working in garbage dumps. And yet I also get the chance to tell students, in person, that there's another way. By studying and working hard at...
8 Over 80
In just about every big city, a 40 under 40 list is published each year to recognize 40 people under the age of 40 who accomplished something special that year. It’s supposed to be a big deal, but is it really? Heck, you can do so many things under 40. Do something...
Filling the Gap
A note from Mike ...In our mission to help people break out of poverty, we find it helpful not just to study the causes of poverty but also the causes of prosperity too. Factors ranging from national policy issues to cultural values and local community challenges can...
A Race to Remember
Every year, we host a global 5K run, aiming to raise funds to support education for young scholars. However, in 2023, something extraordinary happened. Amidst the crowd of determined athletes, a young man named Mihretu emerged, not just as a winner but as a star. He...
Now That’s a Trip
This is kind of a big year for International Samaritan. Thirty years ago this summer, we were born out of desperate compassion after a priest driving a car filled with high school students on an immersion trip came across Guatemala City’s garbage dump and stopped to...
Mapping Your Life
In a world brimming with uncertainties, equipping scholars with the tools to navigate their personal and professional journeys is paramount. At the beginning of this year, our team in Jamaica decided to have life mapping and vision board workshops. These workshops...
president’s blog
A New Life in the New Year
By Mike Tenbusch | December 28, 2022
Daniel Castelanos has not had an easy life. He was abandoned at the dumpsite in Tegucigalpa when he was nine years old. For two years, he slept on a piece of cardboard in the dump and foraged through trash for food to eat each day. He made flower pots out of old tires that he sold to get by until tragedy struck when he was 11.
Danny recalls, “While I was with my childhood friends waiting for someone to give us something to eat, a dump truck arrived with an amazing haul of food. I ran ahead of my friends to be able to get the best of it, but it didn’t go well for me. I fell from the back while the truck was reversing. The tires ran over me from my feet to my waist.”
Suffering from shock, Danny woke up in a hospital with only minor injuries, but still no home to go to. He asked one of his aunts for help. She took him in and gave him a job helping her sell tortillas. A church ministry eventually helped him to finish high school and even start college. When their funds ran out, we were able to step in and help Danny get through the last three years of university.
For some time now, Danny has been dating his high school sweetheart. He’s known for a long time that he wants to marry her, but he wanted to prove himself worthy first. So, the very first thing he did after getting a bachelor’s in business management a few weeks ago was to invite his closest friends to share this moment with him…
Experience this special moment from Danny’s graduation party
Danny and his fiancée, Julissa
The miracle of Danny’s turnaround was supported by complete strangers: People like you who give to our holistic scholarship program for him and 800 scholars last year. We need some miracles to finish the year well. Please prayerfully consider giving generously before the year’s end to be a miracle for someone like Danny next year.
Danny with his friends
Danny on graduation day
A New Life in the New Year
By Mike Tenbusch | December 28, 2022 Daniel Castelanos has not had an easy life. He was abandoned at the dumpsite in Tegucigalpa when he was nine years old. For two years, he slept on a piece of cardboard in the dump and foraged through trash for food to eat each...
Christ the King!
By Mike Tenbusch | December 21, 2022 When our Board of Trustees voted last January to make “Water” one of our goals for the year, it was a “gulp” moment for us. We knew that we were going to be stretched and running hard all year long simply to raise the $2.4 million...
What Makes Christmas Special?
By Mike Tenbusch | December 16, 2022 We asked our scholars that question, and thought you might enjoy seeing some of their responses and favorite memories from Christmas... Thank you for being a part of their celebration. If you would like to make a final gift to our...
Confounding Women
By Mike Tenbusch | December 09, 2022 The safety and security of our team leaders have long been a concern of mine. They walk hand-in-hand with people living in some of the most difficult places on earth—and then make life-altering decisions to award holistic...
I Second that Emotion
By Mike Tenbusch | December 02, 2022 In a letter I mailed to your home last week, I talked about how often I find myself in tears in the course of our mission at International Samaritan. If you were wondering, “Has Mike just gotten soft?” I wish you had been at our...
A Mother’s Touch
By Mike Tenbusch | November 18, 2022 What would your life be like if you were never able to see your mother in person? If phone calls were the only way you could speak with her, and you had no recollection of her hugs or touch? On my most recent trip to Honduras, I...
About Us
International Samaritan is a nonprofit organization with the designation 501(c)(3). Our headquarters is located in Ann Arbor Michigan.
