Awe and Wonder

In the midst of anguish and despair, I’m struck by the mountain-moving power of God and the love of friends and strangers.

More than 50 people died in the landslide in Uganda two Saturdays ago, and more than 100 homes were destroyed. When David Kafambe reached out to us early on Saturday morning, we sent out a request for prayers to 44 people who have committed to intentionally pray for special needs as they arise. (Please let me know if you’d like to be added to this group.)

By Monday, David and his team had a plan in place to begin providing food and temporary shelter to 500 people who had lost everything. We sent an email to 4,000 people that night asking for help and had raised $800 by the time I went to bed.

What happened next amazed me the most. Friends and strangers began giving and kept giving–surpassing the goal of $44,000 by the end of the day Friday! On that same day in Uganda, David and his team were distributing food to 700 people there who cannot work in the dump while it remains closed because of the tragedy.

Please see this news article from Uganda to get a sense of what we accomplished together.

Perhaps, more importantly, please watch this video about our mission and the impact we make every day through almost 1,000 Samaritan Scholars. It features Nanteza, the mother of a scholar in Kiteezi. Nanteza miraculously survived the landslide 10 meters away from where she stood.

I remain in awe and wonder at the mountain-moving power of God and love of friends and strangers.

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.