Scientology Disaster Response Specialists Graduation in Tanzania

Students at the Lord Baden Powell Memorial School in Dar es Salaam earn certificates from the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Africa Goodwill Tour.

A special graduation June 13^th at the Lord Baden Powell Memorial School in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, acknowledged students who completed Disaster Response Specialist Training through the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Africa Goodwill Tour.

The training, which included basic organizational and communication skills, was delivered by a team of Volunteer Ministers from South Africa who bring their mobile training center to countries throughout Africa. Training also covered basic Scientology Assists—technology developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard that address the spiritual and emotional factors in stress and trauma.

School director Col. Kipingu Iddi Omari opened the ceremony and the students who completed the program received certificates and Volunteer Minister ID Cards identifying them as disaster response specialists.
Singer Grace Paul sang an original Swahili song based on the motto of the Volunteer Ministers, with Lord Baden Powell students joining in the chorus: “No matter the situation, something can be done about it.”
Volunteer Minister Goodwill Tour Leader Carl von Pfeil urged the students to use what they have learned to accomplish their goals: “You have learned simple truths: you can make yourself heard, you can learn anything, you can organize to accomplish what you set out to achieve. You can do something about it.”


News about the Scientology Volunteer Minister at Blog.VolunteerMinisters.Org!

SCIENTOLOGY VOLUNTEER MINISTERS OF MEXICO COMPLETE SEARCH AND RESCUE TRAINING

A team of Scientology Volunteer Ministers returned to Mexico City this week after completing a rigorous course of training in disaster search and rescue in various locales around Mexico. The training was supervised by Los Topos, the renowned Mexican search and rescue team featured in a National Geographic documentary on the Japan tsunami of 2011, and other top professionals. The purpose: to leverage experience and expertise gained to direct the activities of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Disaster Response in the worst possible disasters.

The Volunteer Ministers were inspired to participate in this month-long training program through their association with Los Topos. The alliance between the two groups began in Haiti, where they worked together to deal with the devastation after the January 2010 earthquake. Since then, Los Topos volunteers and executives have completed Volunteer Minister training at the National Church of Scientology of Mexico. And Los Topos carried out much of the training program the Volunteer Ministers have now completed.

But it was a personal experience in Colombia last year that brought home the urgency of carrying out a program like this.

“When we were in Colombia to help with the floods last year, I realized the importance of disaster prevention,” says Alejandro Del Llano, who directs the Scientology Volunteer Minister activities for Latin America. “We were evacuating buildings under the direction of CINAT—National Circle of Aide Technicians—the top disaster response team of Colombia and one of the best in Latin America. We found and evacuated an entire community of 6,000 residents, completing the operation just before a nearby mountain collapsed in a mudslide that buried the entire neighborhood. We saved thousands of lives. This experience brought home to us the urgency of gaining full competence in every possible disaster response skill.”

The Volunteer Ministers’ training began with a week-long hospital course in March 2012 in the classifying and handling of urgent medical situations. It included learning to recognize the levels of trauma and assessing priorities and the appropriate medical procedure to use for each. They trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), procedures for minor and major injuries, and the care of children, pregnant women and the elderly.

Next came training in civil protection for emergencies occurring inside buildings or other structures. This included organizing and executing evacuations, establishing safety zones and assessing the risks of a damaged building to those inside and the surrounding area.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers then completed a course in underwater search and rescue where they learned to dive in rivers and at sea under extreme conditions including frigid temperatures, strong currents, and low or no visibility.

“We had to dive into waters where you literally could not see anything,” says del Llano. “We overcame our natural fears and are proud of the competence we gained, which makes it possible to help others in ways we were never able to do before.”

With these skills learned, they trained in initial assessments of disaster sites, including immediate care of victims and damage control—how to prevent loss of lives by spotting and evacuating dangerous zones or buildings likely to collapse.

Training in search and rescue under collapsed structures came next. This included analyzing the condition of structures, learning to penetrate and advance inside and underneath buildings, and tracking and extracting victims.

In a private hospital under the supervision of the emergency medical technician in charge of civil protection, they learned CPR, rapid diagnosis of external injuries, and how to transport and remove injured persons from confined spaces such as cars and rooms.

Part way through their training, the volunteers were invited to deploy as part of the civil defense unit to serve when more than 3 million converged for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI in the city of Silao in Guanajuato, Mexico.

Del Llano knows there is more to learn, but the training completed gives the team the immediate expertise needed to contend with the situations most likely to be dangerous in disaster zones.

“We have immersed ourselves in a previously unknown world of professional disaster response,” he says. “Coupled with our knowledge of the technology contained in theScientology Handbook, we are now able to perform an important service in times of disaster.”

For more information, visit the Scientology Volunteer Ministers website.

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The Scientology Volunteer Minister program was initiated by Scientology FounderL. Ron Hubbard in 1976. There are now hundreds of thousands of people across 185 nations trained in the skills of a Volunteer Minister.

News about the Scientology Volunteer Minister at Blog.VolunteerMinisters.Org!

Those who survived the earthquake and tsunami in Northeast Japan last March face many challenges. One family of farmers needed help with their rice harvest.

A team of Volunteer Ministers pitched in to cut the rice and hang it on “rice walls” to dry.

Once dry, the plants will be threshed, which separates the grains of rice from their stalks.

After a day of hard work, the job was done, and the year’s rice harvest, which might otherwise have gone to waste, was salvaged.

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Scientology Volunteer Ministers Japan Disaster Relief Continues

Nearly eight months since the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Japan Disaster Response Team continues its work in the region.

Japan’s announcement today of plans to spend 19 trillion yen ($250 billion) over the next five years to rebuild after the March 2011 earthquake draws world attention back to the region. Northeast Japan where the magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a tsunami that killed more than 15,000, injured thousands more and destroyed more than 125,000 buildings across eighteen prefectures.

For the past eight months, teams of Scientology Volunteer Ministers have continued their work in the region, providing any assistance needed and bringing their own unique brand of help, based on the Scientology Handbook.

Case in point is Tagajo City in Miyago Prefecture, a town of 60,000 where 177 died and 1,811 were left homeless by the disaster. Scientology Volunteer Ministers have continued their work in the city. They visit those now living in temporary housing helping them with whatever they need, and providing Scientology Assists— simple techniques developed by L. Ron Hubbard that help the individual recover from stress, illness and injury. Wherever the go, they train staff and residents in the technology, so they can deliver Assists to one another.

One volunteer spoke of the experience.

“I spoke with a woman who told me about her childhood. She survived a tsunami when she was 4 years old. You could see how much better she felt because she was able to talk about it. The people I meet are very positive. They are strong and have the will to live. It is an honor to be able to help them.”

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The Scientology Volunteer Minister program was initiated by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard in 1976. There are now hundreds of thousands of people trained in the skills of a Volunteer Minister across 185 nations.

News about the Scientology Volunteer Minister at Blog.VolunteerMinisters.Org!

Peter Dunn: All in the Name of Help

Australian Scientologist Peter Dunn has served as a Scientology Volunteer Minister in Haiti, Queensland, and Japan.

At 4 a.m. on March 11, 2011, the shock wave from the magnitude 9 earthquake that triggered a 30-foot tsunami off the northeast coast of Japan reached Australia—not as a physical blast but rather as a summons for Scientologist Peter Dunn to return to Japan and help in her time of need.

Dunn, a native of Adelaide who lives in Sydney, had spent the last few months volunteering in the December 2010 Queensland floods, helping residents of Grantham, the town hardest hit, clean up their homes and neighborhoods.

Having lived in Japan for several years when he served as a staff member at the Church of Scientology of Tokyo, Dunn’s strong affinity for the Japanese people and his sense of duty prompted his departure for Japan.

Described by Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan as “the biggest crisis Japan has encountered in the 65 years since the end of World War II," the earthquake and tsunami left more than 20,000 dead or missing, causing an estimated 16.9 trillion yen ($220 billion) in damage and triggering the world’s worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

Dunn, who also served for several months in Haiti following the January 2010 earthquake, described the scene he encountered in Japan as very different from what he experienced in Port-au-Prince. Although the destruction was worse and more widespread than in Haiti, Japan rebounded, able to quickly leverage far more resources in the relief effort.

As is the custom of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers, on arriving in Japan they asked what was needed and wanted and set about providing what was asked. They distributed food and water, worked on the search and rescue operation, and manned shelters. They even arranged bicycle donations so junior high school students could travel over roads still closed to cars and trucks to deliver food and supplies to ill, injured, and elderly residents in and around the city of Kesennuma.

While he was prepared to take on any task needed, Dunn is a Scientology spiritual counselor or auditor—“one who listens,” from the Latin audire, “to hear or listen.” So his main function in Japan was to provide Scientology assists. These are techniques developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard that relieve stress and emotional trauma and can speed physical recovery by addressing the spiritual factors in illness and injuries.

“At one shelter, a lady who couldn’t walk when we started rose after a five-minute assist feeling like she wanted to run,” says Dunn. “Another elderly woman was deeply disturbed and told me she expected to die soon. A week later, after daily assists, she had regained her will to live and her enthusiasm and she was bringing life and optimism back to the entire room of 30 survivors in the shelter where she was staying.”

Dunn is proud that in each disaster where he has served, the Scientology Volunteer Ministers have addressed the task at hand with industry, willingness and persistence.

“It has been my honor to help hospital-bound amputees in Haiti, polite and gentle Japanese pensioners in homeless shelters, and rough, tough Aussie farmers,” says Dunn. “And each of them know by our actions that we have simply come to help.”

Introduced to Scientology in 1974 when a friend gave him a copy of Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought by L. Ron Hubbard, Dunn, now 61, found answers he’d long sought about the meaning and purpose of life. What he appreciates most from what he has gained in four decades as a Scientologist is the ability and opportunity to help.

The Scientology Volunteer Minister program was initiated by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard in 1976. There are now hundreds of thousands of people trained in the skills of a Volunteer Minister across 185 nations.

News about the Scientology Volunteer Minister at Blog.VolunteerMinisters.Org!

The Work of the Volunteer Ministers Disaster Response in Ishinomaki, Japan, Continued

One volunteer speaks of her experience on the Ishinomaki Volunteer Ministers Team and the effect it has had on her life.

It has been six months since I came to the disaster area. I have been working in the Ishinomaki team ever since.

There are always some foreign volunteers working with us, which can cause some troubles due to the differences in language and culture, particularly because I couldn’t speak English. Thanks to this team, however, I have learned to understand enough English to get by. I call it my “Disaster Overseas Education,” or “studying abroad in disaster areas.”

Many VMs of various backgrounds came to the disaster area—it was a team of unique and dynamic people.

___

Ironically, one thing I gained through this disaster was a better relationship with my father.

I always wanted to improve my relationship with my family, and I wanted to balance family with doing much more for society and humanity.

When the disaster struck I accomplished the second goal—I completely immersed myself in the Volunteer Minister activities. But at a certain point I realized I hadn’t spoken with my parents in quite some time.

I live in Nagano Prefecture, 240 km from my parents in Kyoto, and it sometimes happens that I don’t contact them for quite a while. So when I returned temporarily to Nagano from the disaster zone, I called my parents, only to learn that my 70-year-old father had retired in April.

I have never been able to talk casually with my father, and we rarely speak much when I call. So after talking over the phone, I wrote my parents a letter.

It had always been difficult for me to express my love to them—I even had the idea that I had hated my father but I expressed my gratitude to them—especially to my father—for working to provide for us for such a long time.

I was so surprised when I received a post card from my father in reply. I have written many letters to him—this is the first time he ever replied.

The post card was tightly filled with characters apologizing to me for having acted out of selfishness.

I was so happy to read it, I cried.

___

The need for help in the disaster zone continues.

Please join us in our Volunteer Ministers activities. There is a free shuttle bus from Tokyo. You will see what a positive influence you can have on people and society.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers in action at the Scientology VM Blog

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VOLUNTEER MINISTERS
PROVIDING EFFECTIVE HELP

In answer to escalating crime and violence through the latter 1960s and early 1970s, L. Ron Hubbard founded the Volunteer Minister program. It was designed to provide practical tools for engendering understanding and compassion. Moreover, those tools were expressly conceived for use by Scientologists and non-Scientologists alike. Thus was born a broad-based movement of individuals from all walks of life dedicated to providing on-site assistance to communities around the world.

Through the last 30 years, Scientology Volunteer Ministers have provided aid and emergency services at more than 128 worst-case disaster sites. Today, they are among the world’s most recognized independent relief organizations, and have trained tens of thousands of new volunteers on their methods of bringing help in the worst of times and conditions.

As L. Ron Hubbard wrote, "A Scientology Volunteer Minister is a person who helps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by helping restore purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others. A Scientology Volunteer Minister does not shut his eyes to the pain, evil and injustice of existence."

Volunteer Ministers live by the motto that “Something can be done about it.”

News about the Scientology Volunteer Minister at Blog.VolunteerMinisters.Org!

Joplin Tornado Volunteers Share a Perspective —Help is the Bottom Line

Sometimes, it’s the simple things that make the biggest difference.

A Volunteer Minister who helped in the wake of the Joplin, Missouri tornado in May 2011 described how much people appreciated his willingness to do some hard work.

For several hours, he and some other volunteers helped a woman dig through the wreckage of her home. She was so grateful about the dishes and glasses they salvage—these were cherished possessions that had belonged to her mother.>>

News about the Scientology Volunteer Minister at Blog.VolunteerMinisters.Org!

Scientology Volunteer Ministers

I bet you take it for granted your house will be there when you get home from work tomorrow. What if it were gone? Just gone?

What if a 3/4-mile-wide twister picked it up like in The Wizard of Oz but unlike Judy Garland you didn't end up in a magical kingdom--you ended up on your own street minus house, car port and garden.

I'll bet you'd really appreciate some yellow-shirted Scientology Volunteer Ministers showing up to help.

News about the Scientology Volunteer Minister at Blog.VolunteerMinisters.Org!

Spring Valley Mayor Declares July 12 Ralph Mary Gedeon Day

An amazing young man, whose life was saved by a Scientology Volunteer Minister after the Haiti earthquake, is determined to make a difference for his country.

Spring Valley, New York, Mayor Noramie Jasmin has designated July 12, 2011, as Ralph Mary Gedeon Day in recognition of the courage and resolve of a young survivor of the January 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Gedeon, 23, has set his sights on a career as a civil engineer, to help rebuild the infrastructure of the Port-au-Prince region and implement standards that will prevent future natural catastrophes from decimating his country.

Gedeon was buried alive by the Haiti earthquake when his engineering school collapsed on top of him. By the time his father found and dug him out of the rubble, a day and a half had gone by, along with any chance that Gedeon could keep the leg that was crushed by tons of concrete and cinder block.

Despite his miraculous rescue, Gedeon was dying because he was refusing the amputation that might save his life but would leave him a burden to his family. Had he not relented, he would not be alive today.

Gedeon was presented a plaque by Mayor Jasmin at a ceremony in her office. Accompanying him was Rockland County LPN, EMT and Scientology Volunteer Minister Ayal Lindeman. It was Lindeman, volunteering at Port-au-Prince General Hospital as part of the Scientology Haiti Disaster Response, who convinced Gedeon to undergo the amputation on the promise that the young man would be able to live a self-sufficient and valuable life.

Lindeman arranged U.S. hospitalization and surgeries (Dr. David Gibson, St. Raphael’s Hospital, New Haven, CT), rehab and extensive follow-up medical care.

Gedeon walked to his ceremony today “on his own two legs”—one of which is made of steel.

Mayor Jasmin, the first Haitian-American female mayor in the United States, is not the only official impressed by Gedeon’s story. U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. Congressman Eliot Engel of the Bronx and Ellen Jaffee, who represents Rockland County in the New York Assembly, have all gone out of their way to arrange “humanitarian parole”—the opportunity, extended under rare circumstances for victims of natural disasters and other emergencies, to come to America for life-saving medical care.

Scheduled to finish prerequisite courses at Rockland Community College in Fall 2010, Gedeon will be attending University of Central Florida next year to complete his engineering degree, made possible by a scholarship from ISTAT (International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading) that provided the hospital flight that brought Gedeon to the United States in February 2011. The University is crediting training he completed at the Port-au-Prince engineering school that could have been his grave.

“I want to complete my schooling and return to Haiti to make a positive difference for my people, my country and who knows, maybe even the world.” says Gedeon.

Joplin Tornado Volunteers Share a Perspective —Help is the Bottom Line.Sometimes, it’s the simple things that make the biggest difference.

A Volunteer Minister who helped in the wake of the Joplin, Missouri tornado in May 2011 described how much people appreciated his willingness to do some hard work.

For several hours, he and some other volunteers helped a woman dig through the wreckage of her home. She was so grateful about the dishes and glasses they salvage—these were cherished possessions that had belonged to her mother.

One family was thrilled when they recovered the children’s toys. And one of her neighbors was relieved to have them help clear her driveway so she could drive to work.

After helping a woman and her grandson load a trailer with their possessions, they asked if she needed anything else. She said her wedding ring was missing—her late husband had it made for her and she really treasured it. Locating what used to be the master bedroom they began to search. Digging through the debris, first they found her diamond earrings, then more jewelry. When they finally found the wedding ring in a clump of insulation, the 80-year-old grandmother literally jumped for joy.

Two women were laboring unsuccessfully to load their great-grandfather’s table saws and 100-pound drills into a truck. When the Volunteer Ministers got the tools onto the bed of the truck, their helped was rewarded with hugs.

It was physically taxing, but it made a difference to people who really needed a hand after a disaster. The Joplin experience once again confirmed for them that the Volunteer Ministers motto—“Something can be done about it” —is not simply words, it is a way of life.

News about the Scientology Volunteer Minister at Blog.VolunteerMinisters.Org!

Who are the Scientology Volunteer Ministers?

The Volunteer Minister (VM) program was launched more than thirty years ago, in response to an appeal by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard.

Noting a tremendous downturn in the level of ethics and morality in society, and a consequent increase in drugs and crime, Mr. Hubbard wrote, “If one does not like the crime, cruelty, injustice and violence of this society, he can do something about it. He can become a VOLUNTEER MINISTER and help civilize it, bring it conscience and kindness and love and freedom from travail by instilling into it trust, decency, honesty and tolerance.”"

Official Scientology News: ScientologyNews.org

Scientology Volunteer Ministers in Haiti

News about the Scientology Volunteer Minister at Blog.VolunteerMinisters.Org!

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers and their work in Haiti was featured at a briefing David Miscavige gave to leading Scientologists aboard the Freewinds this summer. In July, these events were held in every Scientology Church and Mission around the world.

News about the Scientology Volunteer Minister at Blog.VolunteerMinisters.Org!

What a Holy Mess!

High seas churned up by Hurricane Alex will delay deployment of a third containment vessel over the ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well until next week, an official warned Thursday.

The White House meanwhile said it would roll out a decision on a revised six-month moratorium on offshore drilling within days, as President Barack Obama called his disaster management team to the White House to discuss next steps.

News about the Scientology Volunteer Minister at Blog.VolunteerMinisters.Org!

When 9/11 hit, a lot of my friends and I were really brought up short. It was such a shock that something like this could happen in America. I thought, at first, this was going to change America forever. It really didn't impact things as much as I thought it would. People went back to being complacent, and life went on (even though we've actually been at war ever since!).

But for Scientologists it actually made a huge impact and change.

For one thing, and probably the main thing, the leader of our religion, David Miscavige, issued a letter to all Scientologists that he called "the Wake-Up Call." In it he pointed out that 9/11 brought home that we have to do something urgently and at once to reverse the downward spiral in our country and the world. He urged every Scientologist to do more.

Since then, there has been a huge increase in the amount Scientologists have been volunteering. And one key way has been in field of disaster relief, with Scientology Volunteer Ministers helping at virtually every major disaster since.

And it is the kind of help no one else can give, really. Because of the technology L. Ron Hubbard developed to help a person overcome trauma, there are thousands, tens or thousands, maybe even millions of people today who have come through disasters without the long term debilitating effects this kind of incident usually causes in one's life.

The a couple of years ago David Miscavige announced a real coup. Training in this kind of disaster relief work is now available online on the Scientology Volunteer Ministers web site. This means, if you can access the Internet, you can learn to help people overcome trauma. That sure makes it possible to outreach far, far more. Pretty incredible.

News about the Scientology Volunteer Minister at Blog.VolunteerMinisters.Org!

Four months doesn't seem that long ago. It was just February that this team of Scientology Volunteer Ministers left for Haiti from Miami. It was covered by local TV stations.

So much has changed in Haiti, but one thing remains true--they still need help. More than 1.5 million people are still stranded, homeless, living in IDP camps. The enormity is daunting.

News about the Scientology Volunteer Minister at Blog.VolunteerMinisters.Org!

Scientology Volunteers Establish Headquarters for Haiti

Pétionville, Haiti—The Church of Scientology International Volunteer Ministers opened a new headquarters Saturday, signaling a new level of commitment to the people of Haiti in rebuilding their country. Located just east of Port-au-Prince, the new headquarters will facilitate the staging and coordination of operations, and provide temporary housing for volunteers from outside Haiti.

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit just west of the capital city of Port-au-Prince January 12 killed an estimated 200,000, injured 300,000 and left one million homeless. By January 17 Scientologists had orchestrated the arrival of 130 doctors, nurses, EMTs and Volunteer Ministers in Haiti. Working with United Nations and U.S. Army personnel at the country’s main airfield, initial actions included organizing and dispatching personnel and supplies. But within hours, the volunteers were manning hospital tents, supply lines, and search and rescue teams.

Operating on the Scientology Volunteer Ministers motto “Something CAN be done about it” the Scientology volunteers concentrate on bringing order into the immediate chaos of a disaster site and alleviating trauma through the use of Scientology Assists, “spiritual first aid” that speeds physical and emotional recovery. In alignment with their motto, Volunteer Ministers also bring a myriad of personal skills to a disaster zone, such as the trained midwife who helped deliver a baby less than a day after she arrived in Port-au-Prince, and six more over the next week, in dilapidated buildings amid aftershocks, electrical outages.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers have provided disaster relief around the globe for more than 20 years. In Haiti, over 300 from 22 countries answered the call for disaster relief and 3,000 Haitians have joined them in their efforts. Together they have brought physical and spiritual relief and order back into the lives of an estimated 360,000 Haitians.

Maria Reyher, International Director of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers, says the new Haiti headquarters gives a new level of stability and service potential to their relief and recovery activities in Haiti. “Thousands of Haitian people want to be involved in bettering the plight of their country and we have workable tools to help them,” says Reyher. “They face many rudimentary and complex problems and our new headquarters provides a stable place to make it possible to help them on an even wider scale.”

For more information on Scientology Volunteer Ministers activities in Haiti visit the Scientology Volunteer Ministers blog.

News about the Scientology Volunteer Minister at Blog.VolunteerMinisters.Org!

Scientology-sponsored Ship Brings More Than 100 Tons of Supplies to Haiti for the Relief Effort

HAITI—A Scientology-sponsored “Lifeboat to Haiti” arrived in Port-au-Prince April 8, carrying more than 100 tons of urgently needed supplies including medicine, medical equipment, an ambulance, food, cooking stoves and tents.

In the first weeks following the earthquake, the Church of Scientology sponsored five chartered flights, bringing more than 440 doctors, nurses and emergency medical technicians and 280 Scientology Volunteer Ministers to the island, helping more than 200,000 people through their combined efforts in the first two and a half months.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers are in Haiti for the long haul, not only providing disaster relief but also working with local government and civic groups and community leaders who are determined to improve the quality of life for all Haitians.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers work in the IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camps providing food, water, and other supplies and training people in Scientology Assists—techniques developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard that help the individual overcome the emotional and spiritual aspects of trauma and stress.

The Volunteers Ministers are also establishing a base in Petionville to provide free training to individuals and groups including teachers, students, disaster relief groups and government agencies. This training addresses the underlying social issues and skills needed to bring about lasting improvement. Seminars and courses include subjects such as communication skills, the basics of organizing and study technology. So far, they have provided seminars and classes to over 8,000 local residents.

For more information on the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Haiti Response Team, visit their web site at blog.volunteerministers.org.

Scientology-sponsored Ship Brings More Than 100 Tons of Supplies to Haiti for the Relief Effort

A Scientology-sponsored “Lifeboat to Haiti” arrived in Port-au-Prince April 8, carrying more than 100 tons of urgently needed supplies including medicine, medical equipment, an ambulance, food, cooking stoves and tents.

Scientology-sponsored Lifeboat for Haiti at the dock in Port-au-Prince

In the first weeks following the earthquake, the Church of Scientology sponsored five chartered flights, bringing more than 440 doctors, nurses and emergency medical technicians and 280 Scientology Volunteer Ministers to the island, helping more than 200,000 people through their combined efforts in the first two and a half months.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers are in Haiti for the long haul, not only providing disaster relief but also working with local government and civic groups and community leaders who are determined to improve the quality of life for all Haitians.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers work in the IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camps providing food, water, and other supplies and training people in Scientology Assists—techniques developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard that help the individual overcome the emotional and spiritual aspects of trauma and stress.

The Volunteers Ministers are also establishing a base in Petionville to provide free training to individuals and groups including teachers, students, disaster relief groups and government agencies. This training addresses the underlying social issues and skills needed to bring about lasting improvement. Seminars and courses include subjects such as communication skills, the basics of organizing and study technology. So far, they have provided seminars and classes to over 8,000 local residents.

For more information on the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Haiti Response Team, visit their web site at blog.volunteerministers.org.