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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.

Anonymous, Marian High School

GUATEMALA, February 2019

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.

Dr. Harry Carr, M.D.

GUATEMALA, Summer 2017

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.

Anonymous, Saint Michael's Catholic Academy

GUATEMALA, January 2019

Full Financial Transparency

We want our supporters to be confident that every dollar that they invest is going toward a good cause. To see our most recent financial documents, click here.

International Samaritan in the News

Learn more about International Samaritan’s press coverage, campaigns, and community involvement.

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.

A Race to Remember

Stars of the Show by David Kafambe

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 blazed through the course, setting a breathtaking record of 13 minutes. That was the moment we knew: Mihretu was not just a runner; he was a comet streaking towards the Olympics!

The world needs to see Mihretu, and the perfect stage was the Source of the Nile Half Marathon in Uganda. This event is a beacon for budding talent, a place where legends like Jacob Kiplimo (the world record holder for the half marathon) began their journey. With eyes full of dreams and a heart full of hope, Mihretu stepped onto this hallowed ground.

Mihretu, 119, with racers in Uganda for the Source of the Nile Half Marathon.

Let’s rewind a bit to understand Mihretu’s journey. Born in the Ethiopian countryside, running was in his blood. Inspired by the great Haile Gebrselassie, an Ethiopian Olympic gold medalist and four-time World Champion runner, Mihretu moved to Addis Ababa when he was 10 years old, with dreams bigger than his young shoulders. Life was tough. No home, no school, just a small room near a garbage dump where he was allowed to sleep on the floor next to the stove. But his spirit was unbreakable. Each dawn, he ran—fueled not by food, but by sheer will. 

His path was fraught with dangers, from hyenas to unsavory characters, but Mihretu’s feet never stopped. His resilience caught the eye of Engidawork Lemma, our Youth Development Coordinator, which led to a scholarship and a leap from the streets to the school halls. His persistence, now coupled with proper guidance, shaped him into not just the tallest or the oldest in his class, but also the fastest. Now in the 8th grade at age 20, Mihretu continues to lace up his running shoes every morning at 4 am, embarking on long runs through the Ethiopian landscape.

Fast forward to the Source of the Nile Half Marathon, and Mihretu was no longer just a dreamer; he was a doer. Amidst seasoned marathoners, he ran with a heart unweighted by fear or doubt. He came in 21st, crossing the finish line in 1 hour and 14 minutes. Mihretu didn’t just complete a race; he began a legacy.

Mihertu was cheered on by one of our long-time supporters, Pauline Beh.

On race day, Mihertu was interviewed by a TV station in Uganda.

Now, with eyes set on the Olympics, Mihretu’s story is more than just about running. It’s about rising against odds, about the relentless pursuit of dreams, and about the unwavering spirit of a young man who ran not just for himself, but for his country, for his people, and for every dreamer out there who dares to believe.

As we watch Mihretu’s journey unfold, let’s remember: every step he takes on the track is a testament to the human spirit’s ability to triumph over adversity. This is just the beginning for Mihretu, but his story already reads like a legend.

Mihretu was joined at the race by International Samaritan team members and a long-time supporter. From left to right: Engidawork Lemma, Pauline Beh, Mihretu, David Kafambe, Andrew Pawuk, and Selam Terefe.

During Lent, we’re speaking out for the millions of children around the world who live and work in garbage dumps. Learn how you can make the Samaritan Sacrifice.

Selam Terefe, Regional Director, East Africa

Selam has years of experience in international development and aid. Her education and career have given her a thorough and in-depth knowledge of gender, legal, social, and political issues of East Africa with a special focus on Ethiopia. Selam is passionate about development in Africa and a strong believer in effective partnerships.

David Kafambe, Uganda Country Director

David has more than 15 years of leadership experience and a deep knowledge of East Africa. He specializes in managing and developing organizations in development and humanitarian contexts. He has degrees in Community Development, Business Administration, and an M.B.A.

Hong Kong Must be Heaven

Living in China in the 1950’s, a boy named Zhiying and his siblings were forced to raise themselves after Mao Zedong sentenced their parents to a forced labor camp. Zhiying recalls being 5 or 6 years old at the time and struggling to figure out how to survive with no...

A Village Girl’s Journey

I am living proof that the dreams of each of our Samaritan Scholars are valid. I was raised in a village in Kenya, the eleventh born in a family of twelve siblings. For us, struggle was the order of the day.  My elderly parents were not educated. They were staunch...

How to Celebrate New Year’s?

Here in Ethiopia, we celebrated the New Year this past September with singing and dancing in the lively streets of Addis Ababa. One of the remarkable groups that performed named themselves the Samaritan Family. Clad in vibrant, traditional attire, adorned with...

A Life Hack for Christmas

Why did Barry Sanders retire so abruptly from the Detroit Lions in 1999? Amazon Prime recently released Bye Bye Barry, a 90-minute documentary to relive the glory days and reminisce about what could have been. By the end of the film, Barry concedes that it was...

Good Things From Tough Places

Can anything good come from Nazareth? This is how Nathaniel, who became one of Jesus’s apostles, responded when he learned where Jesus was from. It’s a question our scholars often face themselves—either as they interview for jobs or enter schools outside of their...

What Can I Do?

I was introduced to International Samaritan in 2022, through an invitation from my church to go to Honduras and learn about “garbage dump” communities and to help people there break out of poverty. I thought, “Wow! There are 15 million people worldwide in this...

Toledo Love

Toledo, Ohio, is well known for producing Jeeps, manufacturing glass, and for sparking a mostly bloodless war between Michigan and Ohio. What you may not know is that International Samaritan was started by a group of students and faculty from Toledo’s St. John’s...

The Secret To Swimming Well

Something is going on at International Samaritan that reminds me a lot of a guy I saw at our local pool last week. That guy is me. I started swimming laps for the first time in my life a few weeks ago. It’s pretty embarrassing. Older people fly by me, and they keep...

The Race Run ‘Round the World

Energy and excitement filled the air as Samaritan Scholars, families, and friends gathered to participate in the IntSam Global 5K last weekend. It was a joy-filled experience here in Ethiopia where stories were shared, prayers were offered, and laughter echoed...

A Path to Peace

One of our Samaritan Scholars in Ethiopia, Baye, grew up with an abusive father. His father's harsh and unbearable presence inflicted deep wounds on Baye and his mother. Despite summoning the courage to leave and forge their own path, the pain would resurface,...

president’s blog

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 that we needed to keep all 800 of our current scholars successfully enrolled in our Step-by-Step holistic scholarship program. 

Bringing water to the Buen Samaritano community surrounding the garbage dump of Tegucigalpa was even harder.  Wedged into the side of a mountain, with leachate from the dump poisoning the ground around them, the community needed an entire water system complete with underground pipes to give 400 homes access to fresh water—at a cost of $250,000 that wasn’t in our budget.  That’s when we gulped, and then we got to work.

We set a goal of raising $250,000 in the IntSam 5K, which was more than twice as much as the race raised the previous year.  We asked everyone we know to run, walk or donate in support of this project. 

Things went well through the summer as old friends and new began putting teams in the race.  And then in September, things just got stuck.  One month before the race began, when kids were back to school and momentum should have been building, we were floundering in the $75,000 range and couldn’t seem to get out of it.

We gulped again, asked a lot of questions about whether this goal was even realistic or possible, and considered telling our friends in Buen Samaritano that they were going to have to wait another year for water.

Then we did two things: As a team, we began to pray specifically for the Lord to send more laborers for the harvest (Matthew 9:37-38).  After that, we gulped one more time, signed a contract and wired money for the work to begin in Tegucigalpa.  What does it mean to be a faith-based organization if we don’t actually step out in faith once in a while?

That was when all types of small and huge gifts started coming in, inching us, then leapfrogging us, closer and closer to our goal, over the next three months.

Finally, on Wednesday, we made it to $250,000 when we added in a $1,300 commitment from the students of Cristo Rey High School in Columbus, Ohio.  Cristo Rey is a brand new partner in our mission, a school dedicated to serving kids from a lower-income community in Columbus.  The Cristo Rey students organized a 5K with Bishop Watterson and St. Charles Prep (a couple of our long-time high school partners in the Columbus area) and then went out and raised $1,300 from their friends and families. 

So the short answer to how we made it all the way to $250,000 is Cristo Rey.  Or, in English, Christ the King!

Also, in case you missed it last week, please enjoy this message of what Christmas means to our scholars.

Lester’s Words

By Mike Tenbusch | November 04, 2022 Yesterday, I ran my third IntSam Global 5K in as many weeks.  This time it was with our scholars in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, along with a powerful team of new friends from Grace Community Church in Detroit.  While recovering after...

Samaritans for Life

By Mike Tenbusch | October 21, 2022 When we lined up to run the Great IntSam 5K in San Pedro Sula last week, I knew I could take at least half of the 40 or so kids lined up around me.  Sure, it felt like 110 degrees, but they had to run in the same heat too.  I had...

Going for It!

By Mike Tenbusch | October 07, 2022 When she was a young girl, Yessenia was forced by the conditions surrounding her to work in the garbage dump in El Ocotillo, outside San Pedro Sula, Honduras, to pull out as much plastic and cardboard as she could from the teeming...

Sharing Our Stories

By Mike Tenbusch | September 23, 2022 What a joy it was to be a part of Ronia Romero’s barnstorming tour across the United States this past week!  Ronia leads our mission in Tegucigalpa and has personally led the charge for bringing water to her community there.  Over...

A Tale of Three Men

By Mike Tenbusch | September 9, 2022 Roberto Contreras grew up in a small neighborhood near San Pedro Sula, Honduras.  The El Ocotillo dump reached the edge of their town and after school some of the kids would go there to pick through the mountains of garbage and see...

IntSam Scholars Take a Stand

By Mike Tenbusch | July 1, 2022 As we come together with family and friends this weekend to celebrate the courage that our founders had in 1776, our children may also want to give thanks for the wisdom of the leaders who passed laws in 1938 forbidding child labor in...

About Us

International Samaritan is a nonprofit organization with the designation 501(c)(3). Our headquarters is located in Ann Arbor Michigan.

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