Never in my life have I seen such profound change in such a short time as the transformation that has taken place in the Dandora (Kenya) and Kiteezi (Uganda) communities since our teams began awarding scholarships there just over a year ago.

In Uganda, the mothers who used to pick through garbage are learning to read and write now that their children are in boarding schools, easing the financial burden at home. Given a chance at life outside of the dump, fifty of them are also singing and dancing with irrepressible joy under the expert tutelage of Grace Flavia Ibanda, one of our amazing team members with Kiteezi Samaritan. You can see part of their first public performance below.

In Kenya, dozens of mothers who depended on alcohol to numb the pain of daily life as collectors in the dump have formed savings groups and have begun starting small businesses making more money in much less dangerous working conditions. The challenges they faced with alcohol just one year ago have miraculously disappeared. I’m in Kenya with them now and am astounded by the radical change.

We want you to see and experience the change you are making possible. Please join us online for just 15 minutes this Saturday for a Pep Rally featuring leaders and scholars from all eight of our partner communities right before they run their Samaritan 5K. You’ll hear a song live from the Samaritan mothers in Uganda too.

Get a free boost of inspiration by signing up using the link below.

Samaritan 5K Video Pep Rally
Saturday, October 12, 2024
8:00 AM (Mountain) 
9:00 AM (Central) 
10:00 a.m. (Eastern) 
5:00 PM (East Africa)
REGISTER to join the pep rally!

These families still need your help. Hundreds of our scholars AND hundreds of their parents will be running and walking simultaneously across four time zones this weekend asking for your support to help meet critical needs in their communities. 

Please support them by making a gift today. 

To increase the stakes, I’ve challenged the entire nation of Kenya to try to beat me in the 5K. Please, please make a gift, so that I don’t look so bad in the off-chance that I lose.

International Samaritan is a Christ-centered organization built on Catholic Social Teaching. Our mission is to walk hand-in-hand with people who live and work in the garbage dumps of developing nations to help them break out of poverty.

We provide holistic scholarships for students from kindergarten through college, and we’re currently supporting nearly 1,000 scholars in Central America, the Caribbean, and East Africa.

Would your church or school group like to partner and travel with us? Learn about our Learn, Serve, Grow program.

Empower our scholars to change their lives. Become a monthly supporter.

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.