At their 2010 gala event, the Haitian American Nurses Association (HANA) presented a Humanitarian Award for the Church of Scientology to Sue Taylor, National Director for the Churches of Scientology Disaster Response Team.
Over 230 invited medical staff, religious and political leaders attended the event held by the Director of HANA Rockland County (Florida), in honor of the men and women who gave their time and expertise to help the people of Haiti following the disaster.
HANA and the Scientology Volunteer Ministers (VMs), some of the first responders to the January 12th earthquake, worked together to help save lives. The Volunteer Ministers did whatever needed to help the doctors attend to the injured — from driving day and night to get supplies for the medical teams, to providing security and ensuring the doctors had sterilized equipment and clean scrubs. And when the HANA medical teams returned to the States, the VMs also assisted the nurses to get transport home.
Among those attending the HANA gala were Haiti earthquake survivor, Ralph Gedeon and licensed nurse, EMT and Scientology Volunteer Minister, Ayal Lindeman. As Ralph told a captive audience, he was attending classes at Port-au-Prince engineering school when the earthquake struck, leaving him trapped beneath the fallen building for two days before his father managed to dig him out. He was brought to the General Hospital and the doctor’s prognosis was grim: Ralph’s leg was shattered and had an infection that would spread to his heart if it wasn’t removed.
That’s when he met Scientology Volunteer Minister, Ayal Lindeman. Both Ralph and Ayal knew that amputation would seriously reduce Ralph's chances to ever get a job and a life on the street as a result. Ayal took to heart the motto of the Volunteer Minister, “Something Can Be Done About It,” and promised Ralph that he would not only get a prosthetic leg, but an education as well. So with Ayal’s help, Ralph was transported to the States. After 10 separate surgical procedures, he was able to get a prosthetic leg he could use, and within a month he was able to walk with a cane. Today, Ralph has a bright future ahead of him.
The Director of HANA Rockland then spoke of the assistance the VMs gave in helping the HANA medical teams gain entrance into Haiti. She commended the Volunteer Ministers for all of the help provided to the nurses, Haiti and the Haitian people. She then awarded the National Director for the Churches of Scientology Disaster Response Team, Sue Taylor, with a Humanitarian Award stating: “The Haitian American Nurses Association Rockland County presents this Humanitarian Award to the Church of Scientology and all of their volunteers for your commitment, benevolence and support in the Haiti January 12, 2010 earthquake HANA medical and humanitarian disaster relief missions.”
She additionally called the attending Volunteer Ministers to the stage awarding them with pins in gratitude for their help and for their continuing support in Haiti.
Since the Haiti earthquake hit on January 12th, 2010, over 300 Volunteer Ministers from 22 countries have traveled to Haiti to provide assistance, and have trained ten thousands of Haitians as Volunteer Ministers themselves.
