Haiti Earthquake

For several weeks Scientology Volunteer Ministers have been arranging food and other supplies for dozens of children in Port-au-Prince. The Volunteer Ministers continue to feed and care for the children, while professional Haitian orphanage administrators are working to find parents or other relatives.

This past week the first Volunteer Minister teams from Mexico, Russia and the United Kingdom arrived and replaced some of the American volunteer units who had been there for the last three weeks.

In total more than 12,200 people were reached with help this week, including 4,674 served with food and water, and care given to about 2,300 injured people. Several examples follow.

Remote Areas

General Hospital Port-au-Prince (Photo: Scientology Volunteer Ministers/Gracia Bennish (c) 2010)

The Haiti earthquake of January 12 killed over 200,000 and left an estimated 300,000 injured and needing treatment.  Ayal, a licensed practical nurse, EMT and Scientology Volunteer Minister, arrived in Haiti on January 22.  A veteran of disaster response, he served at Ground Zero after 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, but other disasters paled beside what he saw when he first got to the Port-au-Prince General Hospital. 

21 January 2010 at LAX Airport: Josh (left) leaving to Haiti

Meet Scientology Volunteer Minister Josh

Following his interview with NBC we asked Josh to tell us how he came to work in Haiti and his experiences in a field operating room that could compare war zone field hospital. Here is his response, straight from the Volunteer Ministers camp in Port-Au-Prince:

Unloading a cargo flight at the Port Au Prince airport

If your organization has collected donations of medical supplies, food, clothes and protection for the upcoming rainy season, you might wonder how to get it into Haiti and distributed to the intended recipients. The majority of the injured and now homeless Haitian population is living in and around Port-au-Prince. There are several ways to get help into the area:

3 February 2010: NBC followed and interviewed our Scientology Volunteer Ministers Nicole and Josh in Haiti.

A Volunteer Minister serving in Haiti

We received a reader's letter from Julie, a Scientology Volunteer Minister, who just returned to Haiti where she volunteered for nine days in the Scientology Disaster Response Team. Julia had left the US at a moment's notice with her kids and their friends. She writes: I just got back from nine days in Haiti. People have asked me what it was like but truly it is so hard to put into words!

More than 3,200 meals were distributed in camps around Port-Au-Prince, Haiti.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers arranged for and distributed more than 3,200 meals in the past two weeks. They distribute this food in the poorest areas around Port Au Prince. The 82nd Airborne in Haiti provides much-needed security.

NBC News in Washington just posted a story of a local Virginia lawyer who went to Haiti to help, and was flown back by Scientologist John Travolta on his personal aircraft.  Our volunteers working with the Greater Washington Haiti Relief Committee an