January 2010 - Port-au-Prince, Haiti: Volunteer Ministers unload medical supplies and food from Scientology-sponsored flights.
Haiti, 2010: Hundreds of Volunteer Ministers helped with any needed task from distributing food to caring for newborn babies.
Haiti, 2010: Once the immediate emergency was over a permanent base was established to provide help to the people of the country.
Haiti, 2010: Scores of local Volunteer Ministers groups and hundreds of thousands of local residents have attended Volunteer Ministers seminars.
Uganda, 2010:In March,VMs from Kenya traveled to neighboring Uganda after record rains caused mudslides.
Pakistan, 2010: In response to the worst floods in 80 years,VMs provided aide the people of the region.
Haifa, Israel - 2010: The distinctive yellow tent served as a relief headquarters for those fighting the fires outside Haifa.
Thailand, 2010: Scientology Volunteer Ministers climbed aboard military trucks and headed to the flooded areas.
The Scientology Volunteer Ministers who served at Ground Zero in the months following 9/11 set a standard for disaster response and inspired a movement that carried forward for the past decade. In 2010, hundreds of thousands trained in the skills of the Scientology Volunteer Minister reached out and helped others in times of disaster.
- When the Haiti earthquake struck in January, the Church of Scientology sponsored chartered flights of doctors, nurses, EMTs and Volunteer Ministers to provide support to medical teams. The Church chartered a former Coast Guard vessel to transport hundreds of tons of medical supplies, equipment, food, water and clothing. Scientology Volunteer Ministers also provided relief in camps for the homeless and volunteer care in orphanages.
- They ultimately put in place a permanent base to help in the reconstruction of the country, which continues to operate today. There are now scores of local Volunteer Ministers groups and hundreds of thousands of local residents have attended Volunteer Ministers seminars to assist them in rebuilding their country. The base has also provided courses in communication skills to Haitian police, and Volunteer Minister disaster response training to NGOs and disaster response personnel.
- Volunteer Ministers joined the relief effort in the wake of the 8.8 Chile earthquake.
- In March, a team of VMs from Kenya traveled to help neighboring Uganda cope after record rains caused mudslides that buried entire villages. These VMs are Scout leaders who trained as disaster response specialists through the Volunteer Ministers website. The volunteers assisted with search and rescue and provided relief to the displaced and injured living in tent camps.
- In the wake of floods following Tennessee thunderstorms, Volunteer Ministers from Nashville’s Church of Scientology teamed up with Hands-On Nashville to provide on-the-ground coordination for relief efforts.
- Guatemalan Volunteer Ministers provided assistance in shelters after a volcanic eruption in May and in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Agatha’s floods and landslides.
- Following record July floods, Volunteer Minister teams from Karachi escorted and cared for displaced children, provided much-needed rations and supplies, and airlifted emergency medical teams to bring antibiotics and fresh water to those afflicted.
- When New Zealand was hit with a 7.1 earthquake, Volunteer Ministers from Auckland ran relief logistics in partnership with the local Red Cross.
- In San Bruno, California, San Francisco-based Volunteer Ministers worked with civil defense personnel to help clean up debris and man emergency ration lines.
- In December, the largest fire in Israel’s history burned more than 7,000 acres of drought-stricken land on the outskirts of Haifa. Volunteer Ministers organized and distributed supplies and food and provided assists.
- At the end of 2010, the worst floods in 50 years hit the northeast province of Korat, Thailand. Scientology Volunteer Ministers climbed aboard military trucks and headed to the flooded areas, where they helped organize personnel and deliver much-needed supplies.
