“After lunch, we should go climb that mountain,” Xavier said to me during our trip together to Honduras last week. 

“But why?” I protested. “We have so many other things to do.”

“Because it’s a challenge, and I think it will be good for the kids to climb to the top and be able to see the dumpsite and their surroundings from a higher level.”

I couldn’t argue with that, so my wife and I joined Xavier, four of his friends from Grace Community Church in Detroit, a couple of fearless moms and about 25 of our Samaritan Scholars, and off to the mountain we went. It was a hard, harrowing climb, with a warning from the kids about the “huge snakes” lurking in the tall grass around us.

My wife and I peaked halfway up the mountain along with our friend, Karen Cann, the leader of Grace’s missions across the world. Our scholars couldn’t and wouldn’t be stopped. They raced to the top of the mountain with Xavier and his wife, Amauri, along with Avonte Maddox, a Super Bowl champion now playing for the Detroit Lions, and his girlfriend, Iman.

When they finally reached the summit, the kids whooped and hollered, announcing the news of their accomplishment to the world around them. How good it felt to watch this younger generation climb so much higher than us!

Our victory photos! After the climb, my wife and I celebrated with the team from Grace Community Church and a few of our local team members in Honduras.

We are consistently seeing real-life accomplishments like this in all eight communities where we serve. Our scholars are landing jobs, getting married, and raising their families far away from the horrors of the dumpsites. Now, more and more, we are also seeing parents benefit from small groups saving money together and starting businesses. Many mothers of our scholars are cooking, making jewelry, or raising chickens or pigs instead of going to the dumpsite to feed their families. 

The impact of friends like you is embedded into their growth. You supplied fresh water. You’ve built family life centers. Thanks to you, our communities have food, books, computers, even sports teams! The additional help beyond school tuition is having an exponential increase in the health and vitality of these communities.

A few of our scholars in Honduras during the visit by the team from Grace Community Church.

If you want to help spread the joy, please become a monthly donor. None of this happens if people don’t give. Becoming a monthly donor is a surefire way to make a huge difference with the blessings that we enjoy.

If you want to make a one-time gift, please consider helping with an urgent need in Ethiopia, where the stoppage of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has shut off the supply of gas in the nation, causing food prices to skyrocket. You can read more about that below, and be there to help them with a gift today!

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.

Iran War Causing Fuel Crisis in Africa

by Selam Terefe, International Samaritan Regional Director in East Africa

For many in Ethiopia, what used to feel ordinary has gradually shifted into a slower and more uncertain rhythm of daily life for a country that depends fully on imported fuel.

Drivers report spending several nights in their vehicles while waiting for their turn at fuel stations. Fuel shortages have affected transportation and trade, and for some families who rely on daily movement and informal business, income has become less consistent.

These challenges are also contributing to rising prices for basic goods, adding pressure to households that were already managing tight budgets.

As a mother of one of our scholars recently shared, “I am more worried now than ever before. The business people have no mercy; they increase prices as they please.”

In response, the government has set up a task force to control illegal fuel sales and improve distribution. You can read more about this crisis in the news.

If you’d like to help, make a gift to support health and wellness that will provide food in Ethiopia.