our journey across the globe

 

International Samaritan began in Guatemala, on a school trip in 1994. On that trip, Father Don Vettese was diverted from the route he was supposed to take due to traffic, and he was driven through the garbage slums instead. Father Vettese was horrified by what he saw and pledged to do something about it. That chance encounter led to the creation of International Samaritan.

All these years later, International Samaritan has grown beyond Guatemala. International Samaritan currently has Central American offices in Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua, and we made the jump to Africa in 2014 with the opening of our office in Ethiopia. We hope to begin expanding to South America in the near future as well, starting with Paraguay.

Our headquarters is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

costa rica (Prospective)

About

Costa Rica is a rugged, rainforested Central American country with coastlines on the Caribbean and Pacific. Though its capital, San Jose, is home to cultural institutions like the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum, Costa Rica is known for its beaches, volcanoes, and biodiversity. The primary language of Costa Rica is Spanish.

What We Do Here

Service Immersions are currently our primary program in Costa Rica, as the Costa Rica site was only founded in early 2019. We are meeting with local organizations to select partners and develop the Costa Rica program further.

ethiopia

About

Ethiopia, in the Horn of Africa, is a rugged, landlocked country split by the Great Rift Valley. With archaeological finds dating back more than 3 million years, it’s a place of ancient culture. The cities in Ethiopia are rapidly developing, and cultural pride is extremely strong among its people. The primary language of Ethiopia is Amharic. 

What We Do Here

Our primary focus in Ethiopia is on the Paso a Paso program, which is currently supporting over 60 Ethiopian scholars. We also do micro-lending for entrepreneurial ventures that can benefit the community. We plan to start doing medical missions to Ethiopia by 2020.

guatemala 

About

Guatemala is home to rainforests, ancient Mayan sites, and volcanoes – you may have heard about the eruption of Volcan Fuego near the end of 2018. The capital, Guatemala City, is split into 21 zones and is home to over two million people. The primary language of Guatemala is Spanish.

What We Do Here

Guatemala is one of our most robust locations, with three sites spread across the country in Zone 3 of Guatemala City, Chinautla, and Escuintla. Between the three, we support 90 Guatemalan scholars through Paso a Paso, and also conduct most of our medical missions and service immersions here. 

honduras 

About

Honduras is a Central American country with Caribbean Sea coastlines to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. Like Guatemala, Honduras was part of the Mayan empire, and still carries a lot of that history and culture today. Unfortunately, Honduras is also known for being rife with political instability, and it remains one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. The primary language of Honduras is Spanish.

What We Do Here

We have over 80 Paso a Paso scholars in Honduras, and we also support community projects through our partners; however, all other operations have been suspended due to the current violence.

jamaica 

About

Jamaica, a Caribbean island nation, has a lush topography of mountains, rainforests and reef-lined beaches. Jamaica is famed as the birthplace of reggae music. Jamaica is the only country that International Samaritan visits where English is the primary language, though they do speak a different dialect called Patois.

What We Do Here

After the success of our first service immersion in Jamaica in 2018, we are expanding to do both service immersions and medical missions from 2019 onward. We are currently in the process of developing our relationships with community partners to see what else we can do.

nicaragua 

About

Nicaragua, set between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, is a Central American nation known for its dramatic terrain of lakes, volcanoes and beaches. Unfortunately, the primary thing it’s known for right now is the civil unrest that broke out in 2018 and continues to persist. The primary language of Nicaragua is Spanish.

What We Do Here

We have over 100 Paso a Paso scholars in Nicaragua, and we also support community projects and housing initiatives; however, all other operations have been suspended due to the current civil war.

paraguay (prospective for 2020)

About

Paraguay is a landlocked country between Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia, home to large swaths of swampland, subtropical forest and chaco, wildernesses comprising savanna and scrubland. The Guarani culture (the culture existing before Spanish colonization) is still very influential – more than 90% of the people speak forms of the Guarani language along with Spanish. Paraguayans are known for being a very happy and easy-living people and many times the country topped the “world’s happiest place” charts.

What We Do Here

We are currently doing a feasibility study in Paraguay, and hope to introduce programming in Paraguay before the end of 2020.

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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info@intsam.org

(734) 222-0701

803 N Main St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104

M-F: 9am-5pm, S-S: Closed