Haiti Earthquake

A team of Italian disaster specialists, sponsored by the Volunteer Ministers of the Church of Scientology of Milan, are wrapping up last-minute preparations to travel to Haiti to join the relief effort.  Led by veteran disaster specialist, Mr.

Echo Brabenec, 18, a Leelanau County native has traveled to Haiti to help with the country’s recovery from a devastating earthquake on Jan. 12. She is shown comforting a young Haitian friend during the trip. Photo by Peter Dunn

”I was on vacation, and thought to myself, ‘Doing this is so worthless when so many need help,’” said 18-year-old Echo Brabenec, of Suttons Bay. “I felt like I could do better by doing something to help the people in Haiti.”

The mostly home-schooled teen (she studied at Suttons Bay High School for a year, and graduated a year early from Traverse City West), went to Port-au-Prince, Haiti as one of the volunteer ministers of the Church of Scientology on Feb. 14, and will be there until mid-April.

Joava found a company to fly first responders to Haiti at cost—a private aviation company provided the planes and the Church of Scientology paid for the fuel and expenses of disaster response personnel going on those flights.

Sandy, Utah—Sandy resident, Joava Good says “Haiti made the Indonesia tsunami, Katrina and 9/11 look small by comparison.” In a presentation to the Sandy City Citizen Corps Council Thursday, March 11, entitled Church of Scientology Disaster Relief, she will share eight lessons learned in Haiti that can make all the difference in any future disaster.  Good, a member of the Draper City Emergency and Advisory committee for the past four years calls Haiti “a real eye-opener” and “the worst catastrophe we’ve ever worked on.”

In a letter presented to the President of the Founding Church of Scientology of Washington, DC, on March 2, Haitian Ambassador Raymond A. Joseph expressed “deep appreciation” for the work of the Volunteer Ministers of the Churches of Scientology Disaster Response.

Cassandra Hepburn

(Press release) Las Vegas - Cassandra Hepburn, 33, who recently returned from 12 days on the Scientology Disaster Relief Response Team in Haiti, has joined staff at the new Church of Scientology and Celebrity Centre in Las Vegas.  The actress, who appeared in the Quentin Tarantino film "Hellride" and the daytime dramas "The Young and the Restless" and "As the World Turns," is eager to assume her new position at the Church to serve the Las Vegas community.

As there is no functioning system of water pipes, water supplies have to be mounted on the roof of the house.

The creation of a new organizational central of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers is in the making and planned to finish within the next couple of days.

The Washington Jewish Week came out with an interesting article about  volunteer firefighter and wilderness emergency responder Ari Katz who managed to hitch a hike to Haiti with John Travolta and the Scientology Volunteer Ministers:

Since 17 January 2010 Scientology Volunteer Ministers are helping the Haitian population in every way needed.