Picking for School Supplies

This is Nayeli (pictured above), or “Naye” as we affectionately call her. She lives in the Buen Samaritano (Good Samaritan) community in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, with her aunt and almost 4-year-old son, Jasiel. This community is located right next to the municipal garbage dump, and the vast majority of residents rely on the dump for their livelihood, picking through trash to find recyclables to sell and items to keep and use.

Naye doesn’t have a formal job. Jobs are scarce here, especially for people who haven’t graduated from a trade school or university. And many of the people in this community drop out of school to work and collect items from the dump. Naye collects in the garbage dump. At times, she has to take her son with her. She tells me her heart breaks when she sees her son looking for toys in the garbage. 

A smart young woman, Naye dreams of studying for a university degree. Yet she only makes a few dollars each day from collecting recyclables. 

Last month, I was out at the garbage dump handing out meals with a group of students from Ohio’s St. Charles Preparatory School. While we were there, Naye showed me a plastic bag that she found. She said, “This will be Jasiel’s lunch box. I’ll just wash it and get it ready.”

Jasiel will start kindergarten soon. Naye is determined to get materials and supplies for him, even if those things have to come from the garbage dump.

Working in the dumpsite is not easy. Besides the smell and toxic substances, accidents happen regularly. It’s an inhuman life. International Samaritan works with those who, in my opinion, have been overlooked by the world. These are people who do not have the resources to study for a professional career. But, God never leaves us alone. He helped set up this organization! 

We have 60 Samaritan Scholars here in Tegucigalpa, but in Buen Samaritano alone, we have around 920 people who are below the age of 22. They could all benefit from a holistic scholarship (that covers tuition, school supplies, and basic health and wellness needs) if only we had that many scholarships available.

The Buen Samaritano residents who aren’t scholarship recipients (like Naye and her son) are still benefiting from our new Buen Samaritano Family Life Center. This center is open to everyone in the community and offers a safe and comfortable place to learn and play. We have computers, a library, an art class. We have classrooms where we have tutoring in math, Spanish, and English. We have a kitchen that gives us the opportunity to cook and share healthy meals. There’s a court where we can play soccer and basketball. And we plan to add a playground where children can just play and be children. This is a center that offers life, happiness, and—above all—love. It’s just as its name “Good Samaritan” indicates.

Here in Honduras, we have a beautiful country, rich in resources, but with very few opportunities for improvement or professional growth. That’s why I’m so thankful for International Samaritan and our scholarship program. With your support, we are breaking the chains of poverty and helping our scholars get a good education and the skills they need for a career.

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.

It was a trip that founded our organization 30 years ago! In the summer of 1994, Fr Don Vettese took a group of St. John’s Jesuit High School students on a service trip to Guatemala. After getting diverted by a road closure on a ride through the city, they ended up by the city’s garbage dump and were astonished by the horrific conditions and how many people, including children, were picking through trash for items to keep and sell. Moved to action, they wrote to the city’s mayor, asking how they could help, and within a few months, International Samaritan was born.

Thirty years later, trips with International Samaritan are still changing lives—for both Samaritan Scholars and U.S. trip participants! Schools and churches in our Learn, Serve, Grow program learn about the communities we serve, raise money to support our Samaritan Scholars, and then meet our scholars on a trip! If your church, school, or community group is interested in becoming a Learn, Serve, Grow partner, please reply to this email or send a message to info@intsam.org.

Ronia Romero, Honduras Program Director

Ronia serves as International Samaritan’s Program Director in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. She has a degree in Foreign Languages from the Universidad Autonoma of Honduras. For many years, she has dedicated herself to expanding opportunities for children, adolescents, and adults who work in the Tegucigalpa municipal dump.