It’s another stifling hot day at the dumpsite in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in 2021. Nayely, just 20 years old, carefully places her baby, Jasiel, in a cardboard box—the safest spot she can find for him while she searches through trash for anything she can find to sell or eat. Her earnings will buy diapers and milk. Sometimes, she and Jasiel eat food from the garbage.

This wasn’t the life Nayely had imagined. She loved learning and excelled at math, but without money for school fees, her education ended. A year earlier, desperate to create a better future for Jasiel, she had made the month-long journey to the United States with her infant son—enduring hunger, illness, and danger—only to be detained at the Rio Grande and deported back to Honduras within hours of crossing. Now, the landfill seemed to be her only option.

For four years, Nayely brought Jasiel to the dump. She got him larger cardboard boxes as he grew, gave him toys she found in the trash, and watched him learn to kick a soccer ball among the garbage.

Nayely and Jasiel in the Tegucigalpa municipal landfill.

There at the landfill, Nayely regularly saw our local team, including Ronia Romero, our Central America Regional Director. Ronia, with help from her team and volunteers, cooks and distributes hot meals to waste-pickers—one of the ways we identify potential scholars while meeting immediate needs.

One day, when Nayely was 24, Ronia approached her with a life-changing question: “Would you like to go back to school?”

Nayely and Ronia in the El Buen Samaritano Family Life Center.

Nayely’s joyful “YES!” has turned into her way of life. She is now a sophomore in college studying business management and accounting. Jasiel started kindergarten this year. He no longer searches for toys in the trash—he is a child who can dream.

Not long ago, while walking through the dump with Nayely, Ronia watched her pick up a small plastic pharmacy bag from the trash. “Jasiel’s lunchbox,” Nayely said quietly. It wasn’t a lunchbox—just a dirty plastic bag with a zipper. Ronia’s response: “Leave that there. We’ll buy a new lunchbox for Jasiel.”

Today, Nayely volunteers at the El Buen Samaritano Family Life Center, tutoring younger children, and plays on the community’s first women’s soccer team with other mothers and former wastepickers.

(Left) Nayely and Jasiel at the park. (Right) Nayely is part of the first women’s soccer team in her community. The team recently won a weekend tournament.

She is one of 950 scholars that International Samaritan currently supports across seven countries. Over 85% of scholars complete secondary education—compared to less than 40% in their communities—and nearly half go on to university or vocational training.

“Nayely is all about opening paths where none existed before,” Ronia says. “She’s proof that when you invest in one mother, you restore dignity, change her child’s trajectory, and shift what an entire community believes is possible.”

Nayely is on track to graduate in 2027 and plans to teach financial literacy to other mothers in her community. Our work isn’t just about scholarships—it’s about walking alongside people until they can shape their own future.

This story was submitted to the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation’s Inspired by their Stories Award.

In the heart of our El Buen Samaritano community, the International Samaritan team brought together the mothers of Campo Cielo and El Buen Samaritano this year to celebrate Mother’s Day together. It was a day filled with emotion, laughter, tears of joy, and above all, the deep love that unites this community family.

The celebration began with a very special surprise: the children and young people of the program lovingly prepared a beautiful video dedicated to all the mothers present. Every image, every word, and every smile captured in that video was a testament to the love and gratitude the children feel for their mothers. Watch the video below: