Serving in a Garbage Dump

St. Charles Catholic High School Students Learn and Serve with International Samaritan

ANN ARBOR, MI, UNITED STATES, June 26, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A team from St. Charles Preparatory School, in Columbus, Ohio, spent last week in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. They served with International Samaritan in a community that borders the capital city's garbage dump.

“The students learned that people in Central America who pick through trash for recyclables to sell make an average of $5 a day,” said International Samaritan’s President Mike Tenbusch. “They work extremely hard and their daily existence at the dumpsite, and in their homes nearby, is marked by physical and mental health challenges, limited access to clean water and proper sanitation, pervasive stress, and barriers to education, adequate shelter, healthcare, and proper nutrition.”

Students from St. Charles witnessed those challenges when they joined the local International Samaritan team and volunteers to cook, pack, and deliver lunches to people working at the municipal garbage dump. As they were leaving the dumpsite, one of the volunteers vomited.

That’s not uncommon, said Ronia Romero, International Samaritan’s Regional Director. “The unpleasant smells, the emotions, and the contaminations one encounters at the dump can be the cause,” she said. “Imagine the people who are exposed to this situation daily.”

During their trip, the students worked to build a bathroom for a family in the community. When communities are built near city garbage dumps in Central America, many of the homes have been constructed with items found in the dumpsite. It can be common to have limited access to clean water and sanitation. Fortunately in 2022, through generous donations, International Samaritan was able to build a clean water system for this community in Tegucigalpa, which brings clean, fresh water to 2,000 people!

During the rest of the trip, the group from St. Charles visited with Samaritan Scholars, students who are in the International Samaritan scholarship program. The visitors from the United States and the students in Honduras played soccer, board games, danced, and learned more about each other’s cultures.

This trip is just part of the school’s involvement with International Samaritan and their mission, said Michael Warner, a teacher at St. Charles. “My students are already asking, ‘What’s next?’” he said. “Some are eager to find their way back on next year’s trip, others describe wanting to seek out more service opportunities at home. All are agreed that this is just the beginning. The warmth of the welcome in Honduras, the embrace of the children, the jokes with the scholars, the meaningful service awakened something deep, which is unlikely to be put back to sleep.”

St. Charles Preparatory School is part of International Samaritan’s Learn, Serve, Grow program. To help Samaritan Scholars on their journey out of poverty, partner schools and churches in the U.S. commit to raising money to fund scholarships, typically $30,000 a year to support ten young people with a scholarship. Holistic scholarships include school fees and supplies, academic tutoring and mentorship opportunities, and basic health and wellness programs.

International Samaritan currently supports 950 Samaritan Scholars in Central America, the Caribbean, and East Africa.

Michael Tenbusch, CEO
International Samaritan
+1 734-222-0701
email us here

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