Improving Society

What do you do when a hurricane with winds of up to 180 mph hits your coastline?

At the web site for the Tampa Organization of the Church of Scientology, there is a great article about Scientology Volunteer Ministers cleaning up after the the Australian disaster from Hurrican Larry.

In one of the most ambitious volunteer help plans in the world, the Scientology Volunteer Ministers are building a world-wide organization to respond to large scale trauma such as Hurricane Katrina or the Southeast Asian Tsunami. But there isn't always such an emergency, so the VMs travel in Cavalcades, setting up tents in public places to help individuals and train more Volunteer Ministers. In the United States, a VM Cavalcade recently traveled to Harlem, in New York. Read about this VM Cavalcade story on the Volunteer Ministers Web Site.

The worst floods in recent history are attacking Hungary, and the Scientology Volunteer Ministers are on the scene. The article on the Volunteer Ministers site tells the whole tale.

Be sure to check out the latest on the Scientology Volunteer Ministers. The exploits of this ambitious group are far-reaching. In fact they’re quite international.

What is Scientology? Check out the Navy’s Scientology web page. Then go to links at the Center for the Study of New Religions Scientology page. If you want to know more, you can download informational material at http://www.scientologyreligion.org.

The world's largest volunteer assistance organization is getting larger at a rapid rate, and it's happening everywhere, all over the world. Recently there was breakthrough expansion in the African nation of Botswana.

A landlocked country just north of South Africa, Botswana is partially covered by the incredible Kalahari Desert, and is home to a large quantity of the kind of large animals people think of when they think of Africa -- lions, elephants and so forth.

A Scientology Volunteer Minister mission visited Francistown in Eastern Botswana, and left behind a corps of newly trained Scientology Volunteer Ministers who will carry on their work, not only in Francistown, but also in the village of Pandamatenga, 250 km away.

The story of how the Volunteer Ministers came to Pandamatenga began several months ago when a man from the village visited the Goodwill tent in Francistown and decided to take a course in communication. He was so delighted with how much the course improved his abilities that he asked the tour members to bring L. Ron Hubbard’s Volunteer Minister techniques to the people of his village.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tour took him up on his invitation and for the past two months they have been traveling back and forth between Pandamatenga and Francistown, providing their seminars and courses.

The mayor and chief of Pandamatenga, realizing how valuable these services are, donated land for a permanent Volunteer Ministers center that could continue to serve the people of the village after the Goodwill tour moves on to its next location. And now the construction of this new center, built in the style of the local dwellings, has been completed.

Read more about the story at the Volunteer Ministers website, www.volunteerministers.org.

Boston Scientologists Provide Effective Community Help

Three days a week, Boston Scientologists provide one-on-one tutoring to children and adults at the Dorchester Scientology Volunteer Ministry, a free community center serving the inner city of Boston.

Rev. Robert Castagna established the Dorchester Scientology Volunteer Ministry in the summer of 2004 to assist the community with crime and violence reduction. “We wanted to do something effective to help the community,” said Rev. Castagna. “Literacy affects so many aspects of life. The amount of crime in an area directly corresponds with literacy rates, so we decided to provide tutoring as our first activity.”

The ministry also provides other services based on the Scientology Handbook, the text that forms the backbone of Scientology Volunteer Minister training. These services address such subjects as parenting, improving relationships and crime prevention.

The center is open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 3:00 to 7:00, Saturdays and by special appointment.


HOW TO VOLUNTEER
To assist with donations or if you can volunteer time contact the Scientology Volunteer Minister Coordinator at:
1-800 HELP 4-YU (1-800-435-7498) or (323) 960-1949
e-mail vm@volunteerministers.org

Scientology Volunteer Ministers cover the world. In numbers far greater than the Red Cross and the Salvation Army and the Peace Corp combined, they are starting to show up everywhere. One of the remarkable characteristics of this organization is they are active during normal times as well as during emergencies. Their well-publicized help during Katrina and during the Southeast Asian tsunami is backed up by their enduring presence during "peacetime" as well.

Since July 2005, Scientology Volunteer Ministers have been touring through Brazil, providing help to local residents.

The purpose of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tour is to introduce people to simple yet effective techniques to improve conditions in life.

The motto of the Volunteer Ministers is Something can be done about it, and they take this motto seriously, providing help in such diverse areas as raising children, restoring relationships, improving job skills, overcoming the ups and downs in life and improving ethics and integrity.