Refuse to Give Up
A Determined Scholarship StudentThose who know Keyner now would never guess how many times he wanted to give up. He’s one of our scholars, and he is a committed student, a disciplined athlete, and an exemplary older brother. Giving up was just never an option. As a...
Stories that Bring Us to Prayer
Our international teams in eight cities around the world bring our mission to life. They walk "hand-in-hand" with people living in settlements next to garbage dumps, not just helping them break out of poverty but also sharing their stories to keep us all connected....
Honduras United
Two Cities, Same Dream: Scholarship Students in Honduras Come TogetherHere in Honduras, the International Samaritan family isn't limited to a single city. Scholarship students and families in two cities are united by the same dreams, goals, and values, but separated...
Every Drop Counts
How Clean Water Access Is Changing Daily Life for Waste-Picker Families in Nairobi, KenyaThe families we serve here in Kenya often carry two burdens at once: At work, picking through trash for recyclables, they are exposed daily to toxic waste, dust, and chemicals,...
A Childhood Missed
A Lost Childhood and A Classroom Found “Kids, settle down. Today we are going to look at the Amharic alphabet…” Frehiwot starts her day in Ethiopia with these words. Every time she does, she feels a sense of peace. Her classroom is her heaven. “I have always loved...
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Dignity
In overlooked corners of the world, women who have been sorting through garbage for years are beginning to imagine a different life. As the United States celebrates its 250th birthday, I've been reflecting on the American Dream: the conviction that people can work,...
Facing Our Giants Together
Faith and Community at a Dumpsite in Honduras I recently watched the movie Facing the Giants with a group of men in a new Bible study we started here in the El Buen Samaritano community, located next to the dumpsite in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. At this meeting, we were...
Uncovering Greatness
Education Provides a Path Out of Poverty We met Alex at the dumpsite in Kenya. At age 13, Alex would see us and hide. We learned he was born and raised in a slum right next to the dumpsite. Every morning, he would head to the dumpsite to collect recyclables to sell....
Finding Dignity
A Kenyan Mom's Story of Economic Empowerment Meet Marcella, a single mother of four. She lives about 400 meters from the Dandora dumpsite in Kenya, where she also works. Four years ago, Marcella walked away from her marriage, finally determined she would no longer...
Strength To Rise
Every year, we set aside a day to celebrate our scholars and recognize their journey, their growth, and the future they are building. This year, at the Samaritan Family Life Centre in Uganda, it seemed that things shifted, and we got a chance to see who our scholars...
Shaping Her Future
It's another stifling hot day at the dumpsite in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in 2021. Nayely, just 20 years old, carefully places her baby, Jasiel, in a cardboard box—the safest spot she can find for him while she searches through trash for anything she can find to sell or...
Just Show Up
I remember the first time I met Trudy Ann, the mother of two of our scholarship students, Kwase and Kalou. It was my first month as Director at International Samaritan Jamaica, and my first general meeting with our families. She spoke with the quiet certainty of a...
