WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT US
- International Samaritan’s Auction Shines a Light on Artists Who Have Relied on Garbage Dumps to Survive (October 2025)
- Kiteezi Samaritan Seeks Support to Complete Life Center (September 2025)
- Empowering Future Leaders Through Workforce Education: The International Samaritan Approach (May 2025)
- Detroit’s Dan Weingartz Receives Dealmaker of the Year Award (April 2025)
- Announcing the Detroit Smart Business Dealmaker Award Winners and 2025 Dealmakers Hall of Fame Class (April 2025)
- Honors Students Continue 10-Year Partnership with International Samaritan (March 2025)
- Detroit Catholic High School Students Spend Their Winter Break Learning and Serving with International Samaritan (February 2025)
- High School Boys and a Priest from Toledo Founded International Samaritan, a Nonprofit that is Thriving 30 Years Later (August 2024)
- Kiteezi Samaritan provides relief aid to landslide victims (August 2024)
International Samaritan’s Relief Efforts to Help Uganda’s Kiteezi Dumpsite Landslide Disaster Victims (August 2024) - International Samaritan Opens Family Life Center in Honduras (June 2024)
- New International Samaritan partnership takes Trinity Health doctors and residents to Ethiopia (February 2024)
- News Wire: New International Samaritan partnership takes Trinity Health doctors and residents to Ethiopia (February 2024)
- Weingartz Foundation Gives $2.2M to Aid International Samaritan’s African Mission (May 2023)
- With Local Nonprofit’s Help, Honduran Community Will Have Clean Drinking Water (March 2023)
- Former University of Michigan Athletic Director Gives $100,000 Gift for Honduran Water System (February 2023)
-
University of Toledo students help fight extreme poverty by fasting Friday (February 2020)
- St. John’s Students Reflect on Volunteering in Guatemala (October 2019)
- LIVE at Saint Mary Student Parish (April 2019)
- Interview on Ave Maria Radio (April 2019)
- $2 Day at The Nest (April 2019)
- International Samaritan hires Tenbusch as new president (November 2018)
- International Samaritan Announces “Be a Samaritan Day” (July 2018)
- Ann Arbor’s International Samaritan organization declares July 31 “Be a Samaritan Day” (July 2018)
- Marian students provide aid in Guatemala and Nicaragua (March 2015)
- Karen Pulte honored for contribution to International Samaritan (October 2014)
- International Samaritan granted consultative status by U.N. (September 2011)
What We Share
For my Good Samaritan, Charlene, volunteering is not just a duty; it is a passion. She finds joy in giving, and that joy is contagious.
Charlene distributes food packages to Samaritan Scholars, helping to ensure families have enough to eat during difficult seasons. She gives her time freely to our community here in Jamaica, often placing the needs of others before her own. Whether it is helping to organize programs, mentoring young people, visiting the elderly, or simply being a source of encouragement, she does it with genuine care.
I am proud to call her my mom, and even more, I am proud to call her my Good Samaritan. She is proof that love, courage, and volunteerism can transform not just one life, but many.
Our alumni coordinator in Jamaica, Cassem, and his Good Samaritan mother, Charlene.
My mom is a single mother, which means she had to play both roles: mother and father. She was the one who tucked me in at night, and she was also the one who taught me life’s hard lessons with wisdom and patience. She balanced discipline with love, strength with tenderness.
She has gone without so that I could have, and she has poured into others even when her own cup felt empty. She did not just raise a child, she uplifted a community with her kindness, service, and unshakable faith.
My mom has shown me that kindness is not measured by how much we have, but by how much we share.
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 950 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.
Cassem Barker, Alumni Coordinator, Jamaica
Passionate about nation-building and youth development, Cassem is an active member of his community and school environment. He’s a college student double-majoring in Guidance and Counselling. His dedication to his goals is unwavering, and he consistently puts his heart into everything he undertakes, striving to make a positive impact on the lives of those around him.
We all need a Good Samaritan! For those of us who have had a Good Samaritan step in and help, we want to celebrate and honor them.
The first International Samaritan Day will be held on October 25, 2025. We chose 10/25 because Luke 10:25 is when the Parable of the Good Samaritan begins.
What can you do to celebrate?
- Call or text your Good Samaritan and tell them what a difference they made in your life.
- Find out what you would do if you were faced with the same choices as many of our Samaritan Scholars. Explore this choose-your-own-path story.
- Donate today and help give 50 children a path out of poverty.
This year, we’re raising money to fund 50 scholarships by October 25! These scholarships provide tuition, school supplies, mentorship, and basic health and wellness programs.
Thank you for celebrating Good Samaritans and being a Good Samaritan.
-Mike Tenbusch, president
Rebuilding Hope
A year ago, on Saturday, August 10, 2024, life changed forever in Kiteezi, the settlement next to our capital city's dumpsite in Uganda. That...
Hustling to Survive
In Jamaica, “hustling” is more than just a word—it is a way of life. It is not the kind of hustling that carries a negative connotation. Here,...
Born Into Refuse
The dump is where I spend most of my waking hours. It’s the only place I’ve known. I didn’t choose this life; it chose me. I wasn’t born into...
Making a Splash
Here in Honduras, most families dedicate some time to go to the beach and enjoy the beautiful ocean. But for us in landlocked Tegucigalpa, it takes...
A Vision Worth Fighting For
Ever since he could walk, our son, Jacob, has been by my side, and I his. When he was two years old, we spent hours organizing our garage. It was a...
A Brave Heart
It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share news no one should ever have to write. It’s a story not only of sorrow, but also of tribute to a...
A Father’s Example
Darlin shows his strength and commitment to his family and community every day. He is the father of two of our Samaritan Scholars in the El...
Our Samaritan Ohana
Last week I had one of those days that ends with a full heart and a grateful soul. Here in Villa Guadalupe, we invited twenty girls in our Samaritan...
Life Camp
Last week, our team in Uganda brought together 85 Samaritan Scholars, ages 7 to 23, for a three-day boot camp under the theme, “Growing Through Life...

