Japan

Volunteer Minister groups in Northern Japan, from the top: 1) Kesennuma, 2) Onagawa, 3) Myiagi (district), 4) Sendai and 5) Watari

Tokyo/Sendai

We just welcomed six new Volunteer Ministers to the Japan team! Four are headed to the disaster zone and two will work from the Tokyo headquarters.

Ayal Lindeman (left) has worked as a Volunteer Minister and EMT in disaster areas for many years.

Hello from Japan. This trip has been truly amazing.

We are giving lots of assists* and showing people on how to do assists. It is a bit cold but spirits are high. We have approval to travel as emergency responders so we can move on roads and highways only open to that traffic.

An Australian Scientology Volunteer Minister administering Assist.

Some 80 Volunteer Ministers are active on the ground in Tokyo handling food and supply logistics and helping displaced people. Additional groups of Volunteer Ministers have been dispatched to Northeast Japan and are working in shelters in Onagawa, Watari, Natori, Sendai and Kesennuma. Within the first ten days of the disaster we have reached close to 8,000 people. In addition to delivering Assists* and helping with logistics and distribution, our teams are also training people daily on basic Volunteer Minister technology.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers reviewing the location of shelters in the Miyagi Prefecture.

Today the Scientology Volunteer Ministers were asked to expand their activities in Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture (see below). With almost 6,000 reported dead and 6,675 people still missing the region of Miyagi is leading the list of severely affected areas.

Nurse and Scientology Volunteer Minister Ayal Lindeman (center) and team gathered in Tokyo last night.

The next group of specialist-trained Scientology Volunteer Ministers arrived in Tokyo and hit the road early morning to Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture (224 miles/360 kilometers away from Tokyo).

Associated Press report, 19 March 2011: "Japanese volunteers from the Church of Scientology give what they called 'a kind of healing massage' to elderly people staying at a shelter for those whose homes were damaged by the tsunami in Kesennuma, Japan, Saturday, March 19, 2011."

Source: Daylife.com

Japanese Scientology Volunteer Ministers are active in shelters to help with transport and distribution of water, food, hygiene articles and winter clothes.

Right after the earthquakes and tsunami hit Japan our Scientology Volunteer Ministers corps in Japan and neighboring countries were activated. In the first week following the disaster over 5,000 people were helped.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers have been activated all over Japan.

Within 24 hours after the disaster, the first group of Japanese Volunteer Ministers traveled to disaster areas close to Sendai city (Miyagi region) and Shiroishi city (Watati area, still covered with water or debris) to make an initial assessment of what Volunteer Minister activities are needed in the areas affected by last Friday's earthquakes and tsunami. Four VM assessment teams visited several of the over 2,400 evacuation camps and shelters and talked to victims and officials to find out what is most needed.