A Scientology Volunteer Minister, in one of the many tent villages that ring Kathmandu, helps a woman with a Scientology assist. A free online course in Scientology assists is available to anyone wishing to learn this spiritual technology.
Often, the Scientology Volunteer Ministers in disaster zones train others to deliver assists, and they, in turn, join in to help others with these simple techniques.
A Scientology assist helped revive a 104-year-old man who was injured during the first major earthquake.

Hundreds of thousands have suffered loss, injury and displacement in a nation ravaged by death and destruction. Volunteer Ministers help with Scientology assist techniques. In one of the legion of tent cities that ring Kathmandu in the aftermath of the Nepal earthquakes, a woman lies on a mat surrounded by members of her family. She is motionless. She doesn’t turn her head. She seems almost dead—and very nearly was. The woman was buried beneath rubble for 24 hours after her home crashed on top of her, caved in by the massive 7.8 earthquake on April 25.

It was as though every bit of her energy was sapped by that ordeal. She screamed for hour upon hour, desperate to be heard and rescued before it was too late.

The story of how she came back to life is a familiar one to those who have worked with Scientology Volunteer Ministers at a disaster site. Her seemingly miraculous recovery from her deep despondency came from a volunteer performing a Scientology assist.

Assists are very basic techniques that are much more powerful than they might initially appear. Anyone can learn to perform a simple assist in a matter of minutes, helping to address the emotional and spiritual factors that can precipitate and prolong trauma and injury.

Seeing the woman is such deep apathy, a Volunteer Minister began a “locational assist”—orienting her to the environment by simply having her look at her surroundings. Her family was amazed when, after only a few minutes, the woman stood up for the first time in a week, visibly improved in tone and activity. The Volunteer Minister then taught her family how to give her this kind of assist so they could continue to help her themselves.

Another group of Volunteer Ministers came across a 104-year-old man who had been injured during the first major earthquake. The shaker understandably had a profoundly traumatic effect on him. He was afraid to stand up and refused to see his friends or family.

However, after several assists, the centenarian revived, telling the volunteer, “I don't know what it is, but I feel good—I feel much better. That really helped me.”

Whether serving in their communities or on the other side of the world, the motto of the Scientology Volunteer Minister is “Something can be done about it.” The program, created in the mid-1970s by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard and sponsored by the Church of Scientology International as a religious social service, constitutes one of the world’s largest and most visible international independent relief forces.

The Volunteer Minister “helps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by restoring purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others.” A global network of Volunteer Ministers mobilizes in times of manmade and natural disasters, answering the call wherever needed. Collaborating with some 1,000 organizations and agencies, they have utilized their skill and experience in providing physical support and spiritual aid at hundreds of disaster sites.