Jun 10, 2013
Ann Arbor Residents Touched as True Samaritan Tells Story of Dump Life in Ethiopia to Raise Awareness, Support
Ann Arbor residents that met Samuel Liben this weekend will never look at their personal wish lists the same. After hearing Samuel’s journey of overcoming a life of severe poverty in the garbage dump community of Korah, Ethiopia, and what he’s doing today to change it, their suburban lives became Read more...
Jun 3, 2013
Planned Giving: You Can’t Take Your Money With You
International Samaritan is grateful for donors whose generosity supports our ministry. There are many ways to partner with us, including through estate planning.If you haven’t thought about estate planning before, we encourage you to do so. In short, it makes plans for your property after your die. If your wishes Read more...
May 27, 2013
Share Christ’s Love Through Action
Dear Friends, A lesson learned from Samuel’s story is that when generous souls are willing to help provide an opportunity for those in great need a life with basic dignity and hope can result. It begins with generosity.
Samuel, of course, responded to the generosity of others with hard work and Read more...
May 20, 2013
Andrew’s Notes From the Field
In the coming year, our service trip partners include universities, colleges, high schools, and parishes across the United States. California, Connecticut, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and New Hampshire are among the states represented.
Those volunteering in Guatemala will be constructing new bathrooms and making improvements to the facilities at the Coll Read more...
May 13, 2013
Cardinal Turkson Receives International Samaritan Delegation in Rome; Encourages Good Work
Recently, Executive Director Oscar Dussán, longtime volunteer and major donor Ms. Pauline Beh, and longtime supporter Judge Terrence Bronson had the honor of conferring with Cardinal Peter Turkson in Rome. Cardinal Turkson is President of the Pontifical Council of Peace and Justice, which is part of the Roman Curia dedicated Read more...
May 6, 2013
Founders Return to Guatemalan School
Representatives of the Mathile Family Foundation recently visited the Santa María Básico School in Guatemala. Support from the foundation paid for the building’s construction. The Mathile Family continue to visit the school to see the life-changing educational programs made possible by their investment.
Apr 29, 2013
CEIBA Drives Programming at Santa María Básico in Guatemala; Has Successful Track Record for Placement
CEIBA, a 40-year old Guatemalan not-for-profit organization, is now developing programs at Santa María Básico, a school built with funds raised by International Samaritan in the Guatemala City garbage dump neighborhood. International Samaritan is thrilled to have such a capable, committed partner using the school so well. With more than Read more...
Apr 21, 2013
Nicaragua Trip Reveals Improvement in Dump Conditions; Support from Archbishop Brenes
While in Managua, Nicaragua, International Samaritan President Father Don Vettese, S.J. witnessed first-hand what willing and generous souls can do to improve the working and living conditions of people who depend on garbage for their daily survival. Together with associates of our Italian Partner, RETE, Father Vettese visited what just Read more...
Apr 15, 2013
From the Dump to Technical Training
As a child, Annyi Abigail Ramos would often skip school in order to sift through garbage. She could help feed and clothe her family with the few coins she made selling collected scraps of plastic and aluminum. Now, at 16, Annyi looks forward to helping her loved ones even more, Read more...
Apr 8, 2013
Pope Emeritus Challenges Jesuits
In the allocution of His Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI to the 35th General Congregation, the Pope challenged the Jesuits to “…reach the geographical and spiritual places where others do not reach or find difficult to reach." This important statement can be read as a direct request to do the Read more...
Apr 1, 2013
Samuel’s Story: An Opportunity to Serve in Ethiopia
For most of his childhood, Samuel Liben sifted through refuse, desperate to find food for his family. The work was hard and dangerous, but with no father left at home, Samuel had little choice. He struggled against swarms of other workers, as well as dogs, donkeys, and scavenger birds big Read more...
Sep 18, 2012
Children suffer the most
The global problem of garbage dump dwelling is about more than hunger and desperation; it is also about rape. When human traffickers prey on the desperation of poor people living in the landfills, children are bought and sold. In some countries a baby can be purchased for less Read more...
Sep 18, 2012
Volunteers help renovate Honduras Nursery
Reconstruction of St. Ignatius Nursery was aided by the addition of ten helping hands as Michael, Alyssa, Ana, Kelsie and Hank LaValley journeyed to San Pedro Sula, Honduras to assist in the nursery renovation project. The LaValley family, led by volunteer and long time friend of I.S. Matt Ippel, worked tirelessly Read more...
Sep 18, 2012
Annual Bike-a-Thon: This time for Nursery in Honduras
On August 31, volunteers embarked on a 335 mile bike-a-thon to raise funds for the St. Ignatius Nursery in the garbage dump community of Ocotillo, Honduras. Built by International Samaritan in 2008, the nursery has sat vacant and deteriorating since an earthquake three years ago. For three days, our Read more...
Sep 18, 2012
New Board Member Mr. Dick LaValley
International Samaritan is blessed by the addition of new talent to our dedicated Board. Mr. Dick LaValley Jr., of the prominent Toledo law firm LaValley, LaValley, Todak & Schaefer, brings a wealth of “doing for others” experience to our organization. Besides helping clients at his practice and raising a family, Read more...
Sep 18, 2012
Ann Arbor's St. Francis of Assisi Parish travels to Guatemala
For the beneficiaries of International Samaritan programs, 2012 has been a great year. More than 200 volunteers traveled to various countries where I.S. is present, building classrooms and a library, fixing classrooms, and supporting I.S.’s schools, nurseries, and other programs. This year, fifteen different institutions from all over the U.S. participated Read more...
Sep 18, 2012
Andrew's Notes from the Field Desk
Students from University of Detroit Jesuit HS made two service Learning Trips to Nicaragua this past year. The first service trip, led by Br. Jim Boynton, S.J., included medical and dental personnel, as well as nurses to support them. During their week of service, these volunteers tended to Read more...
Sep 18, 2012
Yolanda Celine Beh Library in Nicaragua
International Samaritan is blessed to know so many generous souls. Long time volunteer Pauline Beh opened her heart to donate a much needed library to a school supported by I.S., the Reina Sofía School in Managua, Nicaragua.Sep 18, 2012
Shared Responsibility
Dear Friends, International Samaritan came into being through the Spirit of God, the same Spirit that touched our hearts to do this work. That Spirit guides us in the places we serve, and leads us to service in other lands. That founding Spirit also gives us strength to help the desperately Read more...
Aug 13, 2012
Paso a Paso: A Proven Tool for Success
After completing studies at the Francisco Coll School in Guatemala City, Ana Sofía Áreas Pena, Josefa Anabelly Baltazar Francisco, and Evelin Margarita Navarro received Paso a Paso scholarships. Sofía and Evelin are pursuing four-year physical education degrees in the capital city. Josefa is interested in accounting and hopes Read more...
Aug 13, 2012
Forging a Path Out from Poverty
By most standards, Brenda seems like an ordinary 15-year-old girl. Clad in jeans and a t-shirt, she leaves the home she shares with her mother, stepfather, two brothers and stepbrother to make her way to school every day. The crucial difference between Brenda and a typical teen begins Read more...
Aug 13, 2012
International Samaritan Wrecked My Life
My experiences with the poor, specifically those in El Ocotillo, have "wrecked my life" and "broken my heart." They have turned my world upside down. And this was done in the most unpredictable, yet beautiful and incredible way. I can say that International Samaritan has wrecked my life Read more...
Aug 13, 2012
Succeding, Despite the Odds
When Josefa was young, her father abandoned their family. Her mother, Dominga Baltazar, was left to care for five children. As civil war surrounded her rural home in the 1980s, Dominga found no option but to move her family to the Guatemala City garbage dump. While most American teenagers Read more...
Aug 13, 2012
Next Assignment: Guatemala
Olivia Sharkey, St. Vincent College ’13, shares her reflections as she begins her internship with Sr. Esperanza in Guatemala City. When asked why I wanted to come back to Guatemala for a third time and participate in an internship program, the answer is easy: to give back to the community that Read more...
Aug 9, 2012
Andrew's Notes from the field desk
Andrew Pawuk, International Program Director, participated in the annual National Catholic Aducation Association Convention in Boston in April. Andrew shared information on ongoing I.S. programs in the developing world with NCEA's 9000 participants. Andrew also devoted time to networking, inviting institutions to learn and participate in our 2013 Service Learning Read more...
Aug 9, 2012
Sam's visit of Phillips Exeter Academy
Sam Shopinski, International Programs Coordinator, visited representatives of Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, NH in April. By introducing the work of I.S., Sam helped generate interest in our mission and in having Phillips Exeter students participate in future Service Learning Trips.
Aug 9, 2012
Oscar Dussan's visit in London
While traveling to London, England, Executive Director Oscar Dussan took the first steps in forming new Service Learning Trip partnerships with institutions in the UK. Oscar's overtures to Jesuit and Catholic Schools in England yielded meetings with representatives from St. Ignatius College, Heythrop College, and Wimbledon College. After hearing about Read more...
Aug 9, 2012
Serving from all over the US
This year, I.S. is organizing Service Learning Trips for students from schools in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Louisiana, and California. We will travel to Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Haiti. In Honduras, our volunteers will be rebuilding an earthquake-damaged nursery. Volunteers traveling to Guatemala are constructing two new classrooms for the Francisco Read more...
Aug 8, 2012
Health Poverty Action
Early this year, Executive Director Oscar Dussan and longtime International Samaritan friend and supporter Judge Terrence Bronson met in England with representatives from Health Poverty Action, a London-based humanitarian organization. Discussions included possible collaborations with I.S. to serve garbage dump populations in Ethiopia, Laos, and Cambodia. Following the meeting, Health Poverty Read more...
Aug 8, 2012
Shared Responsibility
Dear Friends, the garbage dump in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is unlike any other dump International Samaritan has visited. Those who live in Korah, the garbage dump area, are not only chronically poor, they suffer from debilitating disease. To the rest of the world, leprosy is a sickness that is treatable, or Read more...
Aug 7, 2012
A dump like no other
“Look at that woman’s hand,” my driver said in a low voice. “All the fingers are missing.” “Now, over there,” he gestured in another direction. “That man’s nose is almost gone.” For no more than five minutes, our car had been still as a large vehicle ahead blocked the way; Read more...
Aug 6, 2012
Samaritan of the Year
International Samaritan Board Member, Mr. Duane Stranahan, Jr., has been named Samaritan of the Year. In a ceremony celebrated after I.S's board meeting last November, Mr. Stranahan was given the award by Evan Caminker, Dean of the University of Michigan Law School. Pat Stranahan has served as a Board Member and Read more...
Jan 22, 2012
International Samaritan featured in the National Jesuit News.
On January 17, 2012, National Jesuit News featured International Samaritan in their article "The Holy Spirit Drives Jesuit to Serve Garbage Dump Communities."From an interview with Fr. Vettese, the article captures the history of our organization, beginning with the first trip to the Guatemala City garbage dump in 1994. Read more...
Dec 7, 2011
Boston Globe features a photo-essay on the efforts of Guatemalans salvaging their living in “The Mine.”
Rodrigo Abd, a photojournalist for the Associated Press, documents the lives of people overlooked by the rest of the Guatemalan society. In the November 15, 2011 edition of “The Big Picture” Abd follows Guatemalans who are scavenging for scrap metal. “The Mine” is a massive garbage dump in Guatemala City just Read more...
Oct 26, 2011
The Call to Serve: Fr. Dean Brackley, SJ
On November 16, 1989, six Jesuit priests and the housekeeper and her daughter were dragged from their rooms at the Jesuit residence at the University of Central America (UCA) in San Salvador, El Salvador. They were pulled from their rooms to the ground of the courtyard, where they were Read more...
Sep 21, 2011
Special Announcement: United Nations Recognizes I.S. for Poverty Relief Work
International Samaritan (I.S.) was granted Special Consultative Status from the United Nations earlier this month, recognized by the UN as an important voice in issues pertaining to poverty relief. “We are privileged to join with the United Nations and other NGOs in the fight to help alleviate severe poverty in developing Read more...workswithProgramDirectorAndrewPawukatI.S.Office5hh.jpg)
Sep 21, 2011
Intern Gives Extraordinary Amount of Time, Energy and Heart
Sam Shopinski, of Detroit, has started a one-year internship with International Samaritan (I.S.). He will be assisting with program development, meeting with campus ministers, and conducting presentations about I.S. service learning trips. Sam is also assisting in video production. “We are extremely grateful for Sam’s volunteer work,” said Fr. Don Vettese, Read more...
Sep 15, 2011
I.S. Volunteer and Poet, Michael Lauchlan, Chronicles Life of the Garbage Dump Dweller
In El Ocotillo, Honduras A parade descends from El Ocotillo past a mother whose new baby sleeps as she stirs a pot over a wood fire, past the yard of Dona Elena, who fled here after Mitch, past the improvised gravesite where bony cattle browse the trash, past the unlikely schoolyard and up to the dump. The parade- ninos y Read more...
Sep 8, 2011
2012 Service Trip Schedule
International Samaritan is looking for individuals and groups to volunteer on the following service trips and medical missions in 2012: Haiti, February 12-18 Participants are needed to help build a new orphanage and classrooms for victims of the 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince. Read more....jpg)
Sep 6, 2011
I.S. School Celebrates New Seventh Grade Classrooms
Last year, more than 50 children were unable to attend school in Ocotillo. As the population of the garbage dump community grows, so do the needs at International Samaritan’s School. Without an education, the children will have few choices; many will end up working in the garbage dump the rest Read more...
Sep 2, 2011
UN Recognition of International Samaritan Featured in the News
The Toledo Blade featured International Samaritan today in an article by Reporter David Yonke titled International Samaritan granted consultative status by U.N. In the article, I.S. Executive Director Oscar Dussan, talks about the special recognition from the United Nations and how it will impact International Samaritan's work Read more...
Aug 23, 2011
Service Trip Volunteer to Become I.S.'s First Speech Ambassador
"I felt like God answered my prayer," said 17-year-old Ashlynne Basile (standing far right). As Ashlynne Basile prepared to start her senior year at Regina High School in Warren, Michigan, she kept thinking that if there was one thing she would change about her high Read more...
Aug 19, 2011
Biking for Bowls Starts Today - Help Raise Funds to Feed the School Children of Ocotillo
Volunteers embarked on a 335 mile bike-a-thon today to raise funds for school lunches for the children living in the garbage dump community of Ocotillo, Honduras. In 2008, International Samaritan (I.S.) built the first grade school and nursery in Ocotillo and began a lunch program. Through the food program, Read more...
Aug 17, 2011
I.S.'s Most Traveled Volunteer Reflects on his Feelings About the Garbage Dump Community of Ocotillo, Honduras
Last week, we said goodbye to Matt Ippel who has interned with International Samaritan two summers in a row. Matt was our 2010 Samaritan of the Year. He is also our most traveled volunteer having been to Honduras four times and Haiti once. Below, Matt reflects on his work with International Samaritan Read more...
Aug 9, 2011
335-Mile Bike-a-Thon to Raise Funds for School Lunches in Ocotillo, Honduras
Mark your calendars for the second annual International Samaritan charity bike-a-thon. Biking for Bowls riders are asked to raise a minimum of $100, which will pay for one child’s school lunch for an entire year. THE DATES: August 19-21 THE DISTANCE: 335 miles *Riders can join in for one, two, or all three Read more...
Aug 8, 2011
Saying Goodbye - Hearts Transformed
“If what we want to accomplish is touching the hearts and minds of our service trip volunteers, I’d say we accomplished that one hundred percent,” said I.S. Trip Leader Matt Ippel, after the return of the latest group of International Samaritan volunteers from Honduras yesterday. The group of 11 finished and Read more...
Aug 3, 2011
The Dump
I am not sure where to start my thoughts.I think every member of the team has seen poverty at different times in our lives. Seeing the people and the activity at the dump, I think, has changed all of us in some way. I have seen pictures of this lifestyle, but Read more...
Aug 2, 2011
Teenagers Prompt Two Fathers to Volunteer
On Sunday, his birthday, Steve Kovach was on a plane bound for San Pedro Sula, Honduras. While trekking to one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere to volunteer in a garbage dump community may seem a strange way to celebrate your birthday, Kovach and his boss, Steve Basile, Read more...
Aug 1, 2011
Video, Article in Ann Arbor Journal Introduces International Samaritan Headquarters to Viewers
Want a peek at International Samaritan's headquarters? An article and video in today's Ann Arbor Journal gives viewers a look at the inner-workings of our mission. Go to the Ann Arbor Journal to view the article and videos.
In the two videos, Executive Director Oscar Dussan gives a tour Read more...
Jul 28, 2011
Kristi Braunlich Writes of the Success of her Recent I.S. Medical Mission
This letter was recently sent to our Executive Director, Oscar Dussan. In it, medical mission volunteer Kristi Braunlich describes why her trip with I.S. was a success. Thank you, Kristi, for allowing us to share your words and giving people insight into our medical missions.
Hi Oscar,
I wanted to thank you Read more...
Jul 27, 2011
"I Cannot Do Everything, But I Can at Least do Something."
Kristi Braunlich, 24, wanted to put her skills as a nurse to good use and help those in need before starting medical school this month, so she contacted International Samaritan to volunteer at our medical center in Ocotillo, a garbage dump community in Honduras. Kristi spent nine days assisting Read more...
Jul 26, 2011
Thanks to Lansing Campus Ministry Office for Endorsing I.S. Service Trips
SPECIAL THANKS to Pat Rinker, Director of the Diocese of Lansing Campus Ministry Office, for posting this wonderful endorsement:
Please consider International Samaritan if planning an international service trip for your college students or young adult groups. I have met with Oscar Dussan and was very pleased with their faith Read more...
Jul 25, 2011
International Samaritan Featured in Yesterday's Toledo Magazine
Photographs from Reporter David Yonke's trip with International Samaritan to the garbage dump community of Guatemala City were featured in yesterday's Toledo Magazine.
Click here to view Yonke's incredible photo montage.
Toledo Blade Reporter David Yonke traveled with a group of student volunteers from St. John's Jesuit of Toledo to the Read more...
Jul 19, 2011
2011 “Come and See” Gives Group Leaders a Feel for I.S. Service Trips
In late June, campus ministers from Ohio to California traveled with International Samaritan (I.S.) to the garbage dump community of San Pedro Sula, Honduras. There, they helped construct the walls for new classrooms at I.S.’s school, participated in reflections, and visited with children at International Samaritan’s nursery in order to Read more...
Jul 14, 2011
St. John's Jesuit Students Serve Children in Guatemala City Garbage Dump Community
Click here to read Toledo Blade article, St. John's Students Serve as Role Models, which is part of a series on International Samaritan service trips and programs.
Jul 13, 2011
Toledo Blade Series Highlights I.S. President's Work in Garbage Dump Communities
Click here to read the second part in the Toledo Blade series on International Samaritan's service trips and programs.
Toledo Blade Reporter David Yonke recently traveled with a group of student volunteers from St. John's Jesuit to the garbage dump community of Guatemala City. Yonke documented his travels with International Read more...
Jul 12, 2011
Toledo Blade Reporter Travels with International Samaritan to Report on Programs and Service Trips
Toledo Blade Reporter David Yonke recently traveled with a group of student volunteers from St. John's Jesuit to the garbage dump community of Guatemala City. Yonke documented his travels with International Samaritan in a front-page series of articles.
Click here to read the first part in the Toledo Blade Read more...
Jul 11, 2011
Service Trip has Impact on Student’s Faith, Friendships
This blog entry was written by St. Charles Prep student Mike Ginikos (pictured left).
I volunteered with International Samaritan through my school. Though the other volunteers are from my school, I really didn’t know any of them. They were from different groups and had different interests. But this trip has Read more...
Jul 1, 2011
St. Charles Prep Live Blog from Ocotillo- Day 2
During my junior year at St. Charles Preparatory School, I was given the opportunity to go on this mission trip. I decided to take up the opportunity for two reasons. One reason was for the experience of leaving the country and the other reason was a way to Read more...
Jun 30, 2011
Hurricane and Lack of Education Forces Many to Work in Dump
I was one of the lucky people to experience seeing the happiness in the children at the nursery. Though we did not bring toys to the children, the children were instantly happy to see us. My group consisted of 12 volunteers. The children ran right to us and Read more...
Jun 29, 2011
Saint John’s Jesuit Students Blog from the Garbage Dump Community of Guatemala City
Student Inspired by Teachers
Today, my classmates and I witnessed an almost surreal poverty. I went to the nursery today, and almost all facets of it were extremely surprising. The biggest surprise came from the teachers. The teachers immediately instilled admiration in my heart as they exerted tremendous, and more importantly, Read more...
Jun 29, 2011
St. Charles Prep Continues Work on Ocotillo Classroom Addition
Thanks to our many volunteers, a great deal of progress has been made on the expansion of International Samaritan’s school in the desperately poor garbage dump community of Ocotillo, Honduras. Volunteers from St. Charles Prep of Columbus, Ohio will continue the building project this week as part of their Read more...
Jun 22, 2011
St. John’s Jesuit Repairs Coll School
Twenty students from St. John’s Jesuit (SJJ) High School and Academy are volunteering with International Samaritan in the garbage dump community of Guatemala City. During the 10-day service learning trip, SJJ volunteers will be rehabilitating the Francisco Coll School.
”The foundation of the school is settling, causing the walls Read more...
Jun 18, 2011
Questions and Answers with U of D Jesuit Volunteers
Who is responsible for this level of poverty?
There are many factors that lead to the state of poverty that is present in El Ocotillo, as well as throughout the world. The lack of an organized government to provide such necessities as a strong infrastructure and clean drinking water inhibit the Read more...
Jun 17, 2011
Volunteer Reflections on Poverty
Guided Blog Reflection: What's the cause of poverty? How do you see poverty after your experience in Honduras?
Reflection I Matt Grabowski Class of 2012 U of D Jesuit High School
Many people believe that the cause of poverty is a lack of hard work or motivation on the part of those Read more...
Jun 16, 2011
U of D Building Walls and Relationships
Blog by Josh Roth (class of 2012, U of D Jesuit), pictured working in the International Samaritan Nursery in Ocotillo, Honduras.
San Pedro Sula, Honduras is a city in the world where faith, family, and work are the three critical things that make up an average life. Coming to San Pedro Read more...
Jun 16, 2011
I.S. Volunteers Make National News in Honduras
International Samaritan volunteers from the Kappa Alpha Order of Miami University made national headlines during their service learning trip to Honduras. The San Pedro Sula Press featured the student volunteers in an article about their work in the poverty-stricken country.
Kappa Alpha helped build new classrooms for seventh Read more...
Jun 15, 2011
News from U of D students - Tuesday
Blog post by Colin Means, a junior at U of D Jesuit (class of 2013) currently serving in Honduras.
Today, after two hours of hacking down weeds, I went with two other boys to the nursery in El Ocotillo. The kids in the nursery were happier than ever to see Read more...
Jun 14, 2011
U of D Student Blogs About Service Trip Experience in Honduras
Yesterday morning, during our second day in Honduras, the U of D mission trip ventured out for a new experience. We hopped into a bus at 8:30 to head to the main site of our Mission work; El Ocotillo.
Through countless presentations and speeches, we had a vague idea of Read more...
Jun 6, 2011
Service learning in Nicaragua
This article was published in The Independent Collegian Sunday, June 4, 2011.
By Megan Gross.
A group of Honors College students and a UT Honors professor came together to give back to those less fortunate, passing up pizza parties and trips to amusement parks.
Twelve students in the Honors Living Learning Community, traveled Read more...
May 10, 2011
I.S. Scholarship Student Works in Dump to Support Mother Through Cancer Treatment
At only 15 years old, Thelma Ordoñez risks her life each day sifting through garbage for recyclables and food for her family to eat. Her mother, Victoria, was diagnosed with cancer last summer. With no father present, Thelma and her siblings do what they can to survive.
Thelma lives in severe Read more...
Apr 19, 2011
Research Reveals Serving Others Changes the Heart
Volunteers Feel More Empathy, Have Better Understanding of PovertyIn research collected over the past four years, International Samaritan (I.S.) volunteers surveyed showed a significant change of heart in how they viewed the poor. The volunteers also showed a desire to learn more about poverty and how they could help alleviate Read more...
Apr 13, 2011
I.S. Breaks Ground on Seventh to Ninth Grade School in Honduras Garbage Dump community
International Samaritan broke ground on a seventh to ninth grade school in the desperately poor garbage dump community of Ocotillo, Honduras. According to the United Nations, the average adult in Honduras has a sixth grade education. A ninth grade education, along with job training, will give the children Read more...
Mar 14, 2011
Bringing Hope to Children of Garbage Dump Dwellers
For the children who live in the garbage dump community of Guatemala City, March 3, 2011 marked a momentous day - the dedication of the community’s first seventh to ninth grade school. The Santa Maria Basico School was built by International Samaritan (I.S.), in partnership with the municipality of Read more...
Feb 9, 2011
International Samaritan's Response to the Protests in Egypt; Prays for Missing Country Director
International Samaritan (I.S.), a nonprofit headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, started a housing program for the Coptic Christians living in the garbage dump community of Cairo in 2008. Taiseer Ahmed, a highly educated young woman who speaks four languages, was a natural choice to head up their programs in Egypt. Read more...
Jan 1, 2011
Help Us Build a Home for David
To kick-off the New Year, we would like to invite you to participate in a very special Raise the Roof for David fundraising event. In 2011, we are hoping to build a home for seven-year-old David Rapalo and his family. We met David on our fall medical mission to the garbage Read more...
Dec 15, 2010
In the midst of chaos, “There’s activity; there’s hope.”
Crystal Davidson is not a novice when it comes to service trips. Over the past few years, she has traveled with International Samaritan to some of the most poverty-stricken areas in the world. But when asked how her recent trip to Haiti differed from other service trips, she paused and Read more...
Nov 9, 2010
Three Young Men Exemplify International Samaritan
International Samaritan honored three of its volunteers at an award dinner held Wednesday, Nov. 3. Matt Ippel, John Brahier and Bart Thompson received awards for their years of exemplary volunteer service.
Matt Ippel, of Dearborn, was named Samaritan of the Year for 2010. Ippel (pictured) distinguished himself on all three Read more...
Oct 1, 2010
Medical Brigade Volunteers in Honduras Dump Community
Two years ago, Sylvania, Ohio resident Richard Flasck was on a medical service trip to the Ocotillo dump community in Honduras. The scene was chaotic. He watched the medical brigade treating hundreds of desperately poor people in make-shift triage rooms in the International Samaritan schools. There were dozens of children Read more...
Aug 16, 2010
Slumdog Tourism’ unfairly and inaccurately discounts the potential of witnessing the reality of extreme poverty in the world
Note: A commentary published in the New York Times on Aug. 11, 2010, written by Kennedy Odede, challenged the practice of humanitarians visiting impoverished regions of the world. Odede charged that "slum tourism turns poverty into entertainment, something that can be momentarily experienced and then escaped from." Fr. Don Vettese, Read more...
Aug 14, 2010
Poor kids in Guatemala plenty rich in fortitude
The love I received in Guatemala this summer was unlike any other I've experienced. Every day for 10 days, 18 children ages 2 and 3 greeted me with huge hugs and smiles - the genuine joy on Read more...
Aug 11, 2010
College students plan cycling trip from Ann Arbor to Harbor Springs to raise funds for Haiti
Bart Thompson and some friends are preparing for a 335-mile-long cycling trip from Ann Arbor to Harbor Springs, Michigan, to raise money for Haiti.
Thompson, a self-proclaimed "fitness junky," grew up in Ann Arbor and will be a pre-med junior at Stanford University in the fall. With help from friends, Read more...