Nevada Scientology Volunteer Minister Planning to Return to Haiti

Donna Cooper’s story of wanting to join the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Haiti relief effort appeared in her hometown paper, the Pahrump Valley Times , in January. Donna has returned from Haiti but is planning to go back in April with her 17-year-old daughter. Donna, mother of 8 and soon to be great grandmother, retires in 16 days. She is a veteran of the Scientology Disaster Response in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Donna mainly worked at the Volunteer Ministers compound at the Port-au-Prince Airport, where she cooked for those who were working in the hospitals. “The doctors were great,” she said. “They slept on the ground in sleeping bags just like the rest of us. They didn’t ask for special favors. They were friendly, cheerful, and never complained about anything. We didn’t have a kitchen—just a couple of two-burner hotplates. One day I grabbed two big bags of rice, 33 cans of Healthy Choice soup, four cans of peas and cooked them all together. Everyone loved it. People were so easy to please. I did laundry too, especially for the doctors and nurses, because they simply had no time to do it themselves.”

Scientology Volunteer Ministers Restore Hope in the Land of Dreams

In a very quiet way, day by day, Scientology Volunteer Ministers on the Outback Goodwill Tour help people overcome the barriers to their happiness and renew the dreams of the people of dreams—the indigenous people of the Australian Outback.

The plagues that dominate indigenous Australian culture are drug and alcohol abuse and illiteracy. In 2005, the reading levels of less than half of third year Aboriginal students and only 31 percent of fifth year students met national standards. While only 5 percent of Australia’s 10-17-year-olds are Indigenous, they make up 40 percent of all young people in the nation’s juvenile justice system. A report released in June 2009 found that Indigenous Australians are 13 times more likely to end up in jail than the rest of the population. The report found a clear link between drug and alcohol abuse and the high number of incarcerated Indigenous people.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tour tackles these problems in villages and camps on a one-on-one basis, using Study Technology, the Answers to Drugs Booklet, and Scientology Assists—”spiritual first aid” that helps establish the person’s communication with his or her body to overcome the pain and discomfort often associated with withdrawal. This spiritual technology, developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, is making a difference in the lives of these people, one person at a time.

Alice Springs is a cultural meeting place for the 60,000 Indigenous Australians of the Northern Territory. An additional 2,000-3,000 Indigenous people pass through 18 outlying town camps and thousands visit the Todd dry riverbed, a sacred site that runs through the town. Volunteer Ministers have introduced hundreds living in the city and camps and those making the spiritual trek to the city to technology to help with drug addiction, literacy, ethics and morality.

An elder from Alice Springs heard about the Volunteer Ministers on the “bush telegraph” (in other words, by word of mouth) and how much their Scientology Assists had helped people. When she encountered the volunteers she had them train her to give Assists and she now uses them regularly with her own friends and family. A Lutheran pastor from Hermannsburg heard about Assists and he too is now delivering them—and has taught 30 others this technology.

With their motto “Something can be done about it,” the Goodwill Tour reaches hundreds of people each month, and through training them in these tools for better living, reach out to an entire culture.

For more information on the Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tours visit the Scientology Volunteer Ministers website at www.volunteerministers.org.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tour of Central and Western Africa

Interview with Bright Freeman, leader of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tour of Central and Western Africa

The leader of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tour In Central and West Africa is Bright Freeman, a native of Ghana, who found Scientology when studying at the University of Cape Town. “I searched for many years to find a solution for my people,” said Mr. Freeman. “I was born and raised in Ghana, and while that country is in pretty good shape, it is surrounded by countries plagued with hopelessness, fear and poverty”.

In 2003, in his search for answers, Mr. Freeman traveled from Ghana to the University of Cape Town, where he embarked on a study of political diplomacy, his third university degree. He chose this field to find answers for his country and Africa.

“I had tried helping my people through education as a teacher, and I had helped people as a pastor and through various human rights programs. I had tried many avenues, but in all my travels and studies, I found no answers that truly changed the condition of my people.”

It was in Cape Town that Mr. Freeman was introduced to Dianetics and Scientology by a local Scientologist.

“Africa is steeped in centuries of superstition and suppression. When I learned the study technology developed by L. Ron Hubbard and I read the Dianetics book I knew I had found the answer. I knew this would lift the darkness in Africa, a darkness that has come from ignorance. Now I am bringing the light of understanding to my people.

“The difference with this program is that we bring real solutions. I’ve spoken to diplomats who command nations, and they have personal difficulties they can’t resolve—how to raise their children so they will do well in life and continue to respect their parents, how to address marital difficulties. I have spoken to men who live in poverty, and they too have the same difficulties. No matter their station in life, people have no solutions, and with the technology developed by L. Ron Hubbard they see the difference.

“They have seen many people come and go. Some have been motivated by an effort to control and suppress, offering false hope and help. Some have been motivated by kindness, but they lacked any effective technology. But the technology of L. Ron Hubbard works, and they see it right away. We are not preaching to them, we are empowering them. This is how we will change Africa forever. Finally the African people will be able to choose their own destiny and create their own future.

“This will end the suppression and despair. I’ve seen it for myself. We’re not telling people they must belong to some new society, or rally to some idea, we restore their self-respect and give them the tools to live a better life. The technology of L. Ron Hubbard is changing Africa, and I am proud to be part of that”

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tour of Central and Western Africa is a humanitarian endeavor made possible by the support of Scientologists from around the world.

For more information visit the Scientology Volunteer Ministers web site.