Scientology Today

Youth delegates from 30 countries came together with human rights defenders this weekend at the 7th Annual Youth for Human Rights International Summit, in support of making the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights widely known and used.

Youth delegates from 30 countries came together with human rights defenders this weekend at the 7th Annual Youth for Human Rights International Summit, in support of making the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights  widely known and used. Held in the United Nations Palais des Nations in Geneva, the event was also attended by over 60 UN diplomats.

The Summit opened with a procession of the youth delegates carrying the flag of their respective nation, and a welcoming address from Mr. Adalbert Nouga, Founder of the Village Suisse NGO. He praised the Youth Delegates for their commitment and Youth for Human Rights International for promotion of the Universal Declaration and its development of human rights youth advocacy.

Formed in 2001, Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) is dedicated to fostering tolerance and peace through promotion of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first document to define the fundamental freedoms and human rights in the United Nations Charter. The Declaration, ratified by the UN General Assembly in 1948, has influenced national constitutions, treaties, laws, and human rights institutions the world over.

Growing in popularity each year, the 2010 Summit attracted nearly 1,000 applicants who submitted essays on human rights with evidence of their human rights education advocacy over the past year. The annual event provides YHRI members opportunities to learn about the UN and share their experiences in promoting the UN Declaration. This year a recent UN Resolution proclaiming August 2010-2011 the “Year of Youth” was also honored as part of the Summit’s theme.

The Summit included presentations from each Youth Delegate on their human rights activities; special addresses by human rights NGOs; a panel discussion on the human rights education draft resolution currently under discussion by the Human Rights Council of the United Nations; and presentation of Human Rights Advocate Awards for stellar contribution to human rights education.

The 2010 Summit was co-sponsored by the Uganda Permanent Mission to the UN, the Haiti Permanent Mission to the UN, Village Suisse NGO, Friends of the United Nations, Ariel Foundation International, the African Diaspora Foundation and the Human Rights Department of the Church of Scientology International, which has also sponsored the distribution of millions of YHRI educational materials, including public service messages about the Universal Declaration and the educational film, The Story of Human Rights.

“When the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the aftermath of World War II, it called upon member countries to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded in schools and other educational institutions,” said Dr. Mary Shuttleworth, educator and YHRI Founder. “This remains the most vital cause and challenge of our times.”

Scientologist, Marc Kosta, who invented the one use only syringe to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and other disease, is featured on the Scientology website  in a feature called “Meet a Scientologist.”

His work was covered in an article on Wired magazine, and is excerpted here, along with a video on the educational foundation he has created.

ONE USE ONLY: THE BROKEN SYRINGE THAT SAVES LIVES

_{rom Wired magazine: By Katie Scott, 06 August 2009}

“In 1984, Marc Koska read a newspaper article predicting the spread of HIV through medical syringes. He decided to take action and spent the next ten years researching the spread of diseases through the use of dirty syringes.

“His studies found that there were 23,000 HIV infections due to unsafe injections each year, as well as one million of hepatitis C and 21 million of hepatitis B. This results in about 1.3 million deaths per year.”

“Koska’s solution is a syringe that can only be used once. The AD (Auto Disable) syringe, or K1”

“Kosta has also created a charity called Safepoint, which sets out to educate people about the dangers of re-using syringes.” >>

_{A team of Scientology Volunteer Ministers traveled to Gonaïves from their Haiti headquarters in Pétionville,  to provide seminars to the people of the city.}

Nancy, an American teacher who spent her summer with the Scientology Haiti Disaster Response Team, traveled with two other Volunteer Ministers to Gonaïves to give seminars to the residents of the town decimated by storms in 2004 and 2008.   There, the local Volunteer Ministers who invited them brought the team to a school and two churches to provide training in Scientology technology.  Here is Nancy’s story:

I had heard that in Haiti when you announce a seminar, 50 people appear out of nowhere to attend.  I thought it was an exaggeration, but that’s exactly how it seemed in Gonaïves, where we filled two churches and a school to capacity for a series of seminars on Scientology assists—techniques developed by L. Ron Hubbard to help people recover from illness, injury, loss and trauma.

The seminars were simple and very practical.  We passed out copies in French of the Scientology Handbook booklets called “Assists for Illnesses and Injuries,” and after a brief demonstration got attendees right into action—practice,  practice, practice until they were confident they could use these techniques and teach them to their friends and families.

_{Seminar attendee reading the Scientology Handbook “Assists for Illnesses and Injuries” booklet.}

In the “touch assist” you tell the person you are helping to feel your finger as you touch them, to help restore communication with injured or affected body parts and the body as a whole.  I learned to say “feel my finger” in Haitian Creole—”santi dwèt mwen”—and acknowledge the person for doing so with a “thank you” (merci), “OK” (d’accord), or “very good” (très bien).

_{Seminar attendees practice the Scientology touch assist on one another.}

I demonstrated how to do the assist and attendees quickly stepped up to drill the technique on each other while I walked around making sure they were doing it correctly, referring them to the right page in the booklet when they had any questions.  The “practice” assists quickly turned into the real thing—those receiving them would suddenly look up with a smile or a sigh or a “Wow, I feel much better.”

Everyone wanted to give and receive them—teenagers, young moms, older men and women—it was amazing to watch them experience relief from pain as their tight muscles relaxed and their joints loosened up.

_{Scientology Volunteer Ministers demonstrate nerve assists, procedures developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard to restore communication with the body.}

Next was the nerve assist, which gently releases the standing waves in nerve channels, improves communication with the body and brings relief. We had them read the directions in the Scientology Handbook booklet and laid blankets down on the floor to demonstrate the assist.  They gathered around to watch and learn and then eagerly got down on the blankets to receive and give these assists themselves.  The relief they gained from these assists was remarkable.

_{Scientology Volunteer Ministers Assist Seminar in Gonaïves.}

Hurricane season rarely spares the people of Gonaïves.  As in Port-au-Prince, where lack of  building codes and standard construction practices are blamed for the inconceivable devastation of the January 2010 earthquake, in Gonaïves, too, destructive “solutions” have exacerbated the effects of natural disasters.

With oil too expensive in this country of poverty, for decades the people of Haiti chopped down their forests for charcoal to cook their food.  By 2004, little more that one percent of the forests remained. With hillsides stripped of trees, three days of heavy rains caused mudslides and floods killing over 2,500 people in Gonaïves.  Another 500 died under similar circumstances in 2008.

Our two days of seminars didn’t change that.  But we put this tool called “Scientology Assists” into the hands of more than 200 people—a skill they intend to use with their friends and families to bring relief and help make life more livable.  And we shared the news that “Something Can be done about it”—the motto of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers.

_{Hundreds of Scientology Volunteer Ministers groups have been established throughout Haiti}

Conditions in Haiti can be improved, technology does exist for raising the bar on ethics and morals, improving literacy, and   accomplishing goals. And this is all available through the Scientology Handbook and the Haiti Scientology Volunteer Ministers headquarters in Pétionville.  Here, hundreds of Volunteer Ministers groups are forming up and thousands are learning to use these tools to create a better future for their city and their country.

Some of the graduates at the Scientology Volunteer Ministers ceremony in Haiti, awarded certificates after completing training on Scientology Assists—spiritual first aid for the relief of pain and trauma.

A ceremony at the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Headquarters in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Petionville on Friday, August 13, 2010, honored more than 100 graduates of Scientology Assists training—spiritual first aid for the relief of pain and trauma.  The graduates, many of them leaders of local Volunteer Ministers groups, use this technology in towns, villages and IDP (internally displaced persons) camps throughout the country. This was the second graduation held since the headquarters opened in May 2010.

It was a lively affair MCed by Dernel Metellus, leader of a local Volunteer Ministers group.  Three yellow tents were erected in the courtyard for the occasion and more than 250 guests filled the benches and cheered as certificates were presented to the new VMs.

The need for a local headquarters and training center became apparent within weeks of the Haiti earthquake.  First, Volunteer Ministers arriving on the scene gave medical assistance, distributed food and supplies, or helped with construction of buildings and sanitation facilities. But right from the start, the Volunteer Ministers provided their own unique form of disaster relief, based on the works of L. Ron Hubbard, Founder of the Scientology religion—Scientology assists that speed recovery from illness, injuries, loss and trauma.

In hospitals and clinics, villages and refugee camps, as people saw the results of this technology they wanted to learn to use it to help their friends and families.  Many Volunteer Ministers who came to help in the first two months have since returned to Haiti, determined to continue to do their part to ensure the country fully recovers.  And interest from the Haitian people was so intense, it soon became clear a central base of operation would be needed.

The Volunteer Ministers headquarters in Petionville was established in May 2010 to coordinate the work of local groups, provide a base of operation for Volunteer Ministers from outside the country, and train new Scientology Volunteer Ministers group leaders who would then train their members to deliver seminars throughout the island.

Volunteer Ministers technology is contained in the Scientology Handbook.  In addition to Assists, the Handbook also covers communication skills, solutions to a dangerous environment, Study Technology and 15 other subjects—all aimed at helping people improve their lives and the lives of those around them.  From disaster relief in the wake of catastrophe, the goal has now expanded to providing the full array of technology to help the people of Haiti build a new future for their country.

Beginning with a few small groups in Port-au-Prince, Delmas and Carrefour, this grassroots movement has expanded to more than 500 groups actively delivering Volunteer Ministers services throughout Haiti.

The students at the August 13 graduation ceremony completed  intensive training and received official certificates signed by their supervisors and the head of the Volunteer Ministers operation in Haiti. One by one, the graduates came forward to receive their certificates to the applause of the crowd of fellow students and friends.

On Tuesday August 3, 2010, the Harlem chapter of Drug-Free Marshals joined the Harlem community’s celebration of National Night Out at the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building to help stem the tide of drug abuse in Harlem by swearing in youth and adults as Drug-Free Marshals.  This is especially needed as new drugs (Finding Nemo and Nutcracker) aimed specifically at our youth are being introduced into our community.

Drug-Free Marshals, a youth anti-drug initiative of the Foundation For A Drug Free World, originally started over a decade ago by the Church of Scientology International, educates youth around the world on the dangers of drug use.  The first group of Drug-Free Marshals were sworn in by the local federal Bureau of Investigation’s Office for Drug Demand Reduction.

Drug-Free Marshals has spread internationally and continues to be supported by community groups, police departments, radio stations and religious groups world over.

The seven points pledge is: As a Drug-Free Marshall I pledge to lead the way by:
1.  Living a drug-free life.
2.  Showing my friends that a drug free life is more fun.
3.  Helping my fellow Drug Free Marshals.
4.  Learning more about how drugs really harm people.
5.  Telling people the truth about the harmful effects of drugs.
6.  Helping my family and friends to be drug-free.
7.  Setting a good example to all children by leading the way to a Drug-Free USA.

For more information about Drug-Free Marshals go to www.drugfreemarshals.org or call Verlene (646) 363-2011.

Reprinted from the Culvert Chronicles, August 12-18 edition.

excerpted from This is Sussex August 1, 2010:

East Grinstead, Sussex, England—Visitors to Saint Hill Manor got into the swing of things at the weekend.

For the seventh year running the Saint Hill Road site was the backdrop for Summertime Swing.

“The fundraising event on Sunday was organised by local jive and swing band The Jive Aces and The L.Ron Hubbard Foundation.>>

 oOo

Summertime Swing 2010, held August 1 at Saint Hill Manor in Sussex, featured the The Jive Aces—the UK-based high energy, jive and swing band, winners of the 2006 City of Derry International Music Award.

The Jives were joined by DJ Terry Elliot and the incomparable jazz and pop singer Keely Smith, with performances by Toni Elizabeth Prima, daughter of Keely Smith and the legendary bandleader Louis Prima (left above with the Jive Aces’ Ian Clarkson),  Kenny Ball, Chas McDevitt  and Keith Ball.

Hundreds of guests enjoyed the annual barbecue on the grounds of Saint Hill Manor;

the vintage vehicle display showcasing cars…

trucks…

and other classics;

and they danced…

and danced…

and enjoyed the entertainment throughout the day.

Hundreds of Scientologists in Tampa Bay have donated over 300,000 volunteer hours in one year alone

_{Clearwater Scientologists organize the Say No To Drugs Holliday Classic to promote drug-free living.}

Clearwater—A Volunteer Awards Ceremony will be held in the historic Fort Harrison to honor the over 800 Scientologists in Tampa Bay who have donated over 300,000 volunteer hours to raise funds for the needy, rehabilitate inmates in Florida’s prisons, tutor children, and to spread the message of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights and that a Drug Free Life is More Fun. Pat Harney, the Public Affairs Director for the Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization will be presenting the awards. She said, “In 1961, L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology wrote: ‘…a being is only as valuable as he can serve others.’ This is an ideology that Scientologists internationally practice, including those here in the Tampa Bay area and I want them to know that they are appreciated for the tremendous work they are doing to raise the standard of living of the people of Tampa Bay and throughout Florida.”

Harney continued, “Participation in Scientology volunteer groups, however, is not just limited to Scientologists. People of all faiths are welcome to volunteer, and most of our programs count a wide range of community volunteers.”

Here is a partial list of the volunteer groups established and led by Scientologists in the Tampa Bay area:

THE COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTER (CLC): Holly and Brendan Haggerty founded the Community Learning Center to provide kids a safe place to learn and to go to after school for arts programs and sports. The proud parents of four children, they have now expanded their services to include literacy programs for adults. Though based right outside of downtown Clearwater, their after-school tutoring programs are running in Pinellas, Dade, Hillsborough, Alachua, Broward-Deerfield and Broward-Ft. Lauderdale counties. Their 89 volunteer tutors have helped some 500 students in the past year alone.

CRIMINON – FLORIDA: Founded here in Florida about 15 years ago, Criminon Florida is currently run by Clearwater resident Susan Broughton. A chapter of Criminon International, Criminon Florida offers character building criminal rehabilitation programs through correspondence courses in 85% of the 75 prisons in the state and has over 2000 inmates enrolled. This activity is 100% volunteer all the way, volunteer supervisors grade inmates lessons, while others ensure that the course is properly administered.

SAY NO TO DRUGS RACE: 20 years ago, Clearwater resident and world-class runner Sandra Johnson started the Say No to Drugs Holiday Classic to promote an anti-drug message through a road race. A team of 200 volunteers produces this race, which now brings over 1,000 runners a year. From executives to chiropractors, to Boy Scout troops to sponsors, all contribute to making this event a success. Now under the direction of Chris Alexander, the race continues to be a draw for elite athletes and weekend warriors alike.

THE WAY TO HAPPINESS: Written by Mr. Hubbard in the early 1980’s, the Way to Happiness is a non-religious moral code designed to help young and old make decisions about their lives that will enable them to flourish. Here in Tampa Bay, the Way to Happiness Club, led by Clearwater resident Betsy Cramb, distributed 125,000 free booklets and held 52 events last year to educate children in the application of this non-religious moral code to improve their survival and the survival of those around them.

THE CLEARWATER COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS (CCV): What originally started as the Women’s Auxiliary of the Church of Scientology, the Clearwater Community Volunteers holds fundraisers and events throughout the year for the benefit of local charities. These include Winter Wonderland in downtown Clearwater, the Easter Egg Hunt in Coachman Park, and Fashions-with-Flair Fashion show which just held its 8th annual event at the historic Fort Harrison. From these events, CCV is able to contribute tens of thousands of dollars each year to worthwhile local charitable organization such as the Make a Wish Foundation and the Children’s Home of Tampa. Realtor and self-proclaimed Professional Volunteer Pamela Ryan Anderson now heads up this group which utilizes the talents of over 800 volunteers.

FOUNDATION FOR A DRUG FREE WORLD, FLORIDA: Led by Julietta Gil, this group was founded to educate people about the dangers of abusing harmful drugs. This chapter of the international Foundation for a Drug Free World gave 30 drug education lectures in schools throughout Pinellas and Hillsborough County to about 3,500 people in one year. They also offer drug free educational pamphlets, and have distributed 75,000 over the last two years. Through partnerships with a multitude of groups, such as the Dunedin Blue Jays, the Clearwater Downtown Partnership and the Sunscreen Film Festival, youth are sworn in as “Drug Free Marshals” who pledge not only to lead a drug-free life, but also to educate themselves and others about the harmful effects of drugs.

HUMAN RIGHTS AWARENESS: The protection of basic human rights has been a hallmark of the Church of Scientology since its earliest days. Here in the Tampa Bay area, two groups have picked up the torch to educate people about what their rights are and how they can defend them: the Tampa Bay Chapter of Youth for Human Rights and the Human Rights Group. Members of Youth for Human Rights give presentations on the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights in schools throughout Pinellas and Hillsborough County. They have also passed out thousands of booklets and public service announcements depicting the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Headed up by Linda Drazkowski, the Human Rights Group held its fourth annual Walk-a-Thon this March in St. Petersburg’s Straub Park. More than 1,000 people from many different faiths and backgrounds marched in support of human rights.”

To find out more about the work of Scientologists as volunteers log on to www.scientology.org.

More than 4000 Scientologists and their friends gathered to commemorate the occasion and tour the Church

From STAFF REPORTS
Published on Pasadena Now: Tuesday, August 3, 2010 | 10:25 AM

Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard at the grand opening of the Church of Scientology

Mayor Bill Bogaard topped the list of officials and community leaders who welcomed the Church of Scientology to its new home at 35 South Raymond Avenue in Old Pasadena July 18 at a ceremony officiated by the ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion, Mr. David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center.

More than 4000 Scientologists and their friends gathered to commemorate the occasion and tour the Church, the second new Scientology Church to open in the Southland in the past three months.

The grand opening was the culmination of a longtime dream for a core team of 100 local Scientologists who took on the challenge seven years ago to build a new Church for their congregation, formed in Pasadena in the 1970s.   “They found exactly the right building,” said Rev. Eden Stein, President of the Church of Scientology of Pasadena.  “They activated the entire congregation and raised the funds to purchase, restore, furnish and equip it.”

Rev. Stein, who coordinated the Church’s Volunteer Ministers disaster response during last September’s Angeles National Forest fires and has been working with community groups for the past several years as coordinator of Church’s drug education and human rights programs, expects the new facilities to enable the Church to greatly increase the scope of its partnership with the Pasadena community.

The Church is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and visitors are invited to attend an open house or take a self-guided tour of the extensive interactive multimedia displays in the Church’s ground-floor Public Information Center.

For more information contact Rev. Eden Stein at (626) 795-9418 or email her at eden@edenstein.com

Seattle—Sixteen hundred Scientologists and their guests packed the street in front of 300 West Harrison in Seattle today for the opening of the new Church of Scientology of Washington, a milestone for the congregation formed 54 years ago.

Duwamish Tribal Chairman Cecile Hansen, a descendant of Chief Seattle after whom the city was named, opened the event with a centuries-old ceremony, welcoming the Church to its new home.

Mr. David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center and ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion, officiated, acknowledging the Scientologists who spearheaded the drive to build the new Church.  Stressing the significance of the occasion, Mr. Miscavige said:

“Just this year alone, we have opened six new Ideal Churches on three continents.  While in months to come you’ll see ribbons parting as far away as Tel Aviv, Melbourne and Moscow, and as close to home as Twin Cities, Sacramento and Portland—to cite but a few of the more than 60 new Churches now looming on the near horizon.

“So, yes, you are part of a movement that qualifies as ‘history in the making.’  Moreover, it is a movement that is all-embracive, all-inclusive and all about ensuring no one falls between the cracks.  Because when you possess a technology capable of restoring the infinite goodness in every human being, then every life becomes immeasurably precious.”

Acknowledging the Church for its many contributions to the community were Washington State Supreme Court Justice Richard Sanders, Washington State Representative Marilyn Chase, Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce President Dave Peterson, Seattle Neighborhood District Coordinator Christa Dumpys, and FEMA volunteer liaison Jo Ann Oram.

Justice Sanders spoke of working with the Church in the field of human rights, a partnership spanning nearly 35 years:  “There is nothing more important in life than being true to yourself and standing up for what you believe. That is freedom, and that is what makes life worth living. And that, to me, is what you represent. … The Church of Scientology is truly a leader when it comes to fighting for the civil rights of those subject to abuse by the so-called mental health laws and those that enforce them.  And I respect your struggle to abolish coercive practices in the field of mental health and to restore human dignity and freedom to all people. I am proud of our accomplishments over the years, and I am especially proud for your significant accomplishment of opening this beautiful new Church.”

President of the Greater Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce, Dave Peterson, gave these words in acknowledgment of the Church’s history of service to its community: “Your Church of Scientology has never failed to step up….  Together, we have a proud tradition in Seattle, one in which the Church of Scientology can rightfully claim its due reward…  I am also proud to say that the Chamber and the Church have co-sponsored many projects for the benefit of the greater community.  And in every case, you never just stand by and think about improvements.  You do them. We at the Chamber know we can always turn to the Church of Scientology—and you will never let us down.”

Long active as volunteers in community betterment initiatives, just last April local Scientologists received the Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce Community Service Award.  Seattle-area Scientologists serve in the Washington Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) and as certified associate chaplains of the Seattle Police Department’s Community Chaplaincy Program.  The Scientology Environmental Task Force, partnering with the Seattle Parks & Recreation Department, Department of Neighborhoods and Seattle Public Utilities to Keep Seattle Beautiful, sponsors the oldest Adopt-A-Street program in the city.  Scientologists have also volunteered with Food Lifeline since 2002 and, since 1993, the Church’s community drug education program has helped thousands of Seattle young people steer clear of substance abuse.

The State of Washington holds a significant place in the life of Scientology Founder  L. Ron Hubbard. In 1923, he joined Tacoma Troop 31 Black Eagle Patrol and the following year, at 13, became the youngest Eagle Scout in America. In 1926, he spent his sophomore year at Seattle’s Queen Anne High School on Galer Street, before embarking on the first of several voyages to a then rarely visited Asia.

During the 1930s, in his Port Orchard writer’s retreat overlooking Puget Sound, Mr. Hubbard authored several acclaimed stories and novels for what is remembered today as the Great American Pulp Fiction Movement. It was also in Port Orchard that he scripted the Warner Brothers classic Dive Bomber.

It was also from Seattle where Mr. Hubbard set sail on the famed “Alaskan Radio Experimental Expedition” to field-test a then novel system on which all future radio navigation was based.

Most importantly, it was in neighboring Port Orchard, in 1938, that Mr. Hubbard authored what is remembered as the philosophic foundation of Dianetics and Scientology. A now legendary work entitled “Excalibur, ” here was the first examination of key universal principles common to all life forms and underlying all behavior.

The new Church of Scientology of Washington is located just blocks from Seattle Center and the Space Needle.  The ground floor features an extensive Public Information Center with 17 multimedia displays that present and illustrate Scientology beliefs, the life and legacy of L. Ron Hubbard and the full array of social betterment and community outreach programs.  These interactive displays provide a concise but panoramic view of the religion to visitors, students and others desiring to learn more about Scientology.

To even better serve the community, the Church has further established the Scientology Life Improvement Center adjacent to the century-old Pike Place Market Historic District, the “Soul of Seattle.” This center provides Scientology introductory courses.

_____________

The Church of Scientology of Washington State is the seventh new Scientology Church to open in 2010.  The Brussels branch of Churches of Scientology for Europe opened on January 23; the Church of Scientology of Quebec opened on January 30; the Church of Scientology & Celebrity Centre Las Vegas opened February 6; the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles opened April 24; a new National Scientology Church opened in Mexico City July 10; and the new Church of Scientology of Pasadena opened July 18

Last year (2009), new Churches of Scientology opened in Washington, DC; Rome, Italy; Nashville, Tennessee; Dallas, Texas; and Malmö, Sweden.  These join a roster of new Churches of Scientology recently opened in world cultural centers, including the Church of Scientology of San Francisco, in the original historic Transamerica Building; the Church of Scientology of New York, just off Times Square; the National Church of Scientology of Spain, in Madrid’s Neighborhood of Letters; the Church of Scientology of London, at the city’s epicenter; and the Church of Scientology of Berlin, near the Brandenburg Gate.

Another five new Churches of Scientology are scheduled for completion before the end of 2010.  Worldwide, there are more than 8,500 Scientology Churches, Missions and affiliated groups in 165 countries.

Beginning of July 2010 the Church of Scientology International launched a new website: ScientologyNews.org

This site will inform the media representatives and general public about newsworthy occurrences in and around the Church of Scientology - with high resolution photos and video material for use by the media - in press release and news stories.

Further, the site provides answers to every aspect of Scientology in over 190 Frequently Asked Questions, many texts about the Church of Scientology’s ecclesiastical structure and its leader, David Miscavige. Short, summarized answers on many groups and organizations related to the Church of Scientology are provided in the “Quick Facts” section of the site and the latest official statistics of the Church can be found on the site as well.

By Amanda Pinto, New Haven Register Staff
apinto@newhavenregister.com

Earthquake survivor Ralph Gedeon prepares to leave for St. Anne Virginie Grimes Rehabilitation Center outpatient treatment in New York.

NEW HAVEN—Five months ago, Ralph Gedeon was lying trapped beneath a pile of rubble when the engineering college he attended in Port-au-Prince toppled in the 7.0 earthquake that hit the island nation.

His leg was crushed and several organs were failing when his father, after digging for a day and a half, rescued Gedeon from the tumbled remnants.

Miraculously, on Sunday, the earthquake survivor stood on two legs — one of them a prosthetic—and packed his bags as he prepared to leave the Sister Ann Virginie Grimes Rehabilitation Center on Chapel Street.

Gedeon’s progress is a miracle, and seeing him walk brings tears to the eyes of Dr. David Gibson, an orthopedic surgeon who teaches at the Yale School of Medicine and is affiliated with the Hospital of Saint Raphael.

“This is what you do it for,” he said. “It is really heartening to see him walk.”

But for Gedeon, who will now begin outpatient treatment in Rockland, N.Y., walking is only a part of his positive journey.

When he eventually returns to his home country, he will have a permanent prosthesis that will even allow him to play soccer, and he’ll have an engineering degree that will enable him to help others injured in the earthquake, said Ayal Lindeman, the emergency medical technician, nurse and Scientology volunteer minister who was on a mission in Haiti when he met Gedeon, 22.

Gedeon will also take classes at Rockland Community College, and will likely receive a scholarship from the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading to continue studies in engineering, Lindeman said. He will switch his concentration from electrical to mechanical engineering so he can focus on creating and improving orthotics and prosthetics to help Haiti’s thousands of amputees, Lindeman said.

Gedeon has come quite a long way for a man who contemplated accepting death rather than enduring an amputation that could have left him shunned in Haiti, where amputees are degraded, Lindeman said.

After Gedeon was rescued, his father, Raphael Gedeon, told Lindeman ‘I love my son, but I cannot condemn him to this life.’ At that moment, Lindeman thought of the motto on the back of his mission jacket, ‘Something can be done;’ he called his friend Gibson and promised Ralph Gedeon a leg and a life.

Now Gedeon has had nine surgeries, his care has been provided at no cost by St. Raphael’s and a prosthetic donated by a manufacturer. He has been tutored, free of charge, in English.

He used a cane to walk from the rehabilitation center Sunday, but routinely lifted it as he waved and joked with the small crowd of well-wishers who gathered to see him off.

Of his ability to walk, Gedeon smiles and simply says, “We’re progressing.” “(I thought I would walk) because Ayal promised me, and second, I’ve seen people walking (on prosthetics) in the movies,” he said.

He said his leg, which is still healing, is a bit uncomfortable, but he was full of smiles and hugs for the group—which included Marie and Marc Roseme, housekeepers in the facility who are originally from Haiti— who bid him an emotional goodbye.

His father, who arrived in the U.S. Friday, said through a translator Sunday that he was at a loss for words for what his son has accomplished, and for the generosity bestowed upon him.

“I don’t have an expression that would fit,” he said. “Just thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Reprinted with permission of the New Haven Register.

Watch the video by clicking on the image:

A good-looking young man in a t-shirt and sweat shorts walked down the street about half a mile from Yale University this weekend.  Two things distinguished him from the thousands of other students living in this college town—the gentle Creole lilt to his voice and a prosthetic leg.  Meet Ralph Mary Gedeon, 22, a Haitian engineering student who was buried alive when his school collapsed from the Haiti earthquake January 12, 2010.

It took more than one miracle to save Ralph Gedeon’s life that day.  In fact it took several miracles that came in the persons of his father, Raphael Gedeon and a Scientology Volunteer Minister from Rockland County, New York.

Ralph’s father, Raphael Gedeon, counted himself lucky when the shaking stopped and his home was still standing.  But the elation turned quickly to anxiety when his son, an engineering student at University GOC in Port-au-Prince, failed to return home from school. His growing fear became worse than a nightmare when he arrived at the college and found a mound of rubble where the school had been.  Another man might have given up in despair right then.  But Raphael was determined to find and save his son. He kept walking throughout the destroyed campus, calling his son’s name.  A day later the first miracle occurred.

When the college collapsed Ralph was pinned face down under tons of concrete and cinder block.  And he was not alone.  Two other young men were buried nearby.  They could hear one another crying out in pain and despair.  A day passed, and Ralph was rapidly losing touch.  He suddenly had a vision of father, and cried out—”I am here!” At that exactly moment Raphael was standing right above him.  He heard his son’s cry.

It took another day and a half to break up enough of the concrete with the help of friends and pull his son from the rubble.

Some 1500 miles to the north, Ayal Lindeman, a Scientology Volunteer Minister from Rockland County, New York, was ready to leave for Haiti and was already organizing a Church of Scientology chartered flight bringing doctors, nurses and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to Port-au-Prince along with a team of Volunteer Ministers.  Lindeman left on the second Scientology-sponsored chartered flight, arriving in Haiti Thursday, January 21.

Lindeman, 54, is a disaster relief veteran, having served as a Scientology Volunteer Minister in nine major disasters including the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  Lindeman is also an EMT and licensed practical nurse (LPN).  But none of this prepared him for what he was about to see when he walked into General Hospital.

“The conditions at the hospital defied expression,” said Lindeman.  “No sanitation. For many nights, no light.  No way to protect soaked dressings from contaminated mattresses. No sheets or bed covers of any kind.  Now I’m pretty tough, but this place drove me to tears.”

Lindeman came to know the Gedeons while pulling 20-hour shifts at the hospital, and says Ralph’s father never left his son’s side.  “His father would softly ask for assistance or come and stand nearby when Ralph’s IV was close to running out.”  Lindeman assisted in a procedure done on Ralph to remove dead tissue from his leg. When the doctors saw the condition of the wound, they realized the only way they would be able to save Ralph’s life was by amputating the leg.

Ralph remembers those days at General Hospital.  “I suffered greatly,” he said.  “I never understood pain before.   The doctor told me the infection would get worse and worse and would finally reach my heart and kill me.  I would die.” They told him the only way to prevent this was to remove the leg. “But I needed a leg to walk, to get to school, to walk around the house.  I didn’t see how I could live without one.  I thought, okay—then I will die.”

Raphael dearly loves his son but would not talk him into an amputation, condemning him to a hopeless life as a cripple in a country where amputees are outcasts.

Learning that Ralph decided against the amputation, Lindeman refused to just stand by and watch the infection kill the boy.

“The motto of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers is ‘Something can be done about it,’ and here was a circumstance where I really had to pass this test.”  He decided to call an old high school friend, Dr. David Henry Gibson, now Chief of Orthopedic Surgery Yale University Medical School.  Cell phone calls were simply not going through, but he tried anyway, the phone rang and Dr. Gibson picked up.  Knowing Lindeman’s commitment to help, no matter where it is needed, he said “I won’t even ask where you are.  What do you need?”  Lindeman told him about Ralph—that he wanted to get Ralph a prosthetic leg.  Dr. Gibson’s answer—”I’ll do it.”  He agreed to do whatever it took.  The Hospital of Saint Raphael in New Haven, Connecticut agreed to cover the hospital stay and all additional expenses.”

Lindeman then went to see Ralph, and told him, ‘you have to live a long life because some day your father is going to need you to be there for him, the way he is here for you now.’ I made him a deal—if he went through with the surgery to amputate the leg, I would personally see that he got a prosthetic leg and the physical and occupational therapy to live a normal life.”

Ralph had the operation, a mid-thigh amputation, and now Lindeman had to keep his end of the bargain.

With the medical care lined up, it was then a matter of getting Ralph to New Haven, Connecticut.  The young man was in such serious condition, he would need continuous care from the time he left Haiti until he got to St. Raphael’s hospital.  Military and private aid agency simply weren’t set up to provide this kind of service.  After  contacting every possible lead, Lindeman finally found ISTAT, the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading.  “They not only agreed to fly Ralph to the US they also took on transporting two other hospital cases who would die without specialist care in the U.S. They were incredible.”

Entrusted by Raphael to care for his son, Lindeman flew with Ralph to Tweed Airport in Connecticut where an American Medical Response ambulance arranged by Dr. Gibson rushed them to St. Raphael’s hospital.

Once admitted to St. Raphael’s, there were several more hurdles for Ralph to overcome.  The surgical team found the infection was in Ralph’s bone.  “If he hadn’t been brought to the US and given the level of expert care he received from Dr. Gibson and the St. Raphael’s team, Ralph would eventually have lost all the bone up to the hip and even that might not have handled it.  He would have died.” said Lindeman.  It took 10 separate surgical procedures to make it possible for Ralph to have a prosthetic leg he could use.

Ralph says this experience has taught him two things: patience and personal strength.  “I could not have made it for two days when I was buried under the rubble and then in the hospital without patience.  I never had it before.  I learned it then,” says Ralph.  “The second is that I never understood pain before.  I suffered greatly and now I understand how people suffer.  I understand others better and it has given me the strength to live.”

“I went through with the operation because Ayal promised me I would have a leg.  He didn’t want me to die, and now I can walk,” says Ralph with a smile.  “I thank the Church of Scientology and Scientologists for everything they did to help me.”

As for learning to use his new leg, Ralph says, “They said it would take me six months, but in a few weeks I could walk with a cane and now I can walk without it.”

And about Lindeman, Ralph says “He gave me my life.  He is like a father to me.  He gave me everything. He treated me like a son.”

On Friday, June 25, Ralph’s father Raphael will be arriving in at JFK Airport in New York, to visit his son.  Thanks to Lindeman, the next time they meet, Ralph will walk over to greet his father—on his own “two feet.”

For more information on the Scientology Volunteer Ministers, visit their website at www.volunteerministers.org.

Church of Scientology Community Relations Specialist, NFL Alumni and educator Bob Adams speaks out for drug awareness and education.

LOS ANGELES—Addressing a high school football team in south Los Angeles last Friday, NFL Alumni, educator and Church of Scientology Community Relations Specialist Bob Adams asked the youth who among them knew someone who had been in serious trouble because of drugs, and found most of them had.

A former tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Adams related to the team his own experience of nearly going blind from short term use of steroids while in college.  During his senior year at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Adams was the captain of offense and knew he was being looked at by several NFL teams.  On a tip from a scout who mentioned he could increase his chances of making it to the NFL by adding 20 pounds to his 6 foot 2 inch 210-pound frame, Adams remembered a teammate who had gained 40 pounds taking steroids the year before.  He spoke to a trainer and within a few days, Adams had a prescription for steroids he hoped would cinch his chances of making it.

Within days Adams was experiencing more than weight-gain. “I started having migraine headaches and I didn’t attribute it to the steroids at first.  Then I started having random periods of 10 to 15 minutes where I could hardly see,” said Adams. “I was terrified that I was going blind and my dreams of playing professional football were gone.”

Adams put his savvy in college biology to work and looked into the steroids he had been taking.  He eventually discovered that he had hypertension from the medication, which was affecting his ocular nerve and causing the bouts of “blindness.” Within two weeks of starting, Adams was done with steroids forever.  And he made it to the NFL and a successful career with the Steelers.

“It’s a real experience that is meaningful to young athletes,” Adams says of the ordeal that nearly finished his football career before it got started.  “Many others haven’t  been as lucky, so I always try to bring home that drugs don’t mix with success in sports or any other zone.  They kill people, ruin relationships and destroy lives and the evidence is all around us.”

A recent study of emergency room visits involving non-medical use of prescription drugs revealed an increase of 111 percent between 2004-2008.   The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Thomas Frieden stated that non-medical use of prescription drugs is now as common as illicit drugs.

Adams recommends a free education resource to students, parents, coaches and educators called the Foundation for a Drug-Free World for its youth-friendly materials based on authoritative studies and surveys.  The Foundation’s Truth About Drugs education series includes 13 booklets and 16 public service messages on the most commonly abused drugs, including prescription drugs.  There is also a new 13-chapter, 90-minute documentary based on interviews with more than 200 former addicts, giving their personal stories.

“Today the way drugs are portrayed in advertising can be very misleading, so no one can afford to be in the dark about drugs.  The information that the Foundation provides should be in every home, locker room, school, club and company,” said Adams.  “It would prevent a lot of heartache and save a lot of lives.”

Churches of Scientology around the world will host community drug education activities June 26 in recognition of the United Nations International Day Against Illicit Drugs and Trafficking.  Steadfast drug education advocates for more than 20 years, Scientology Churches are inviting local police, officials, community leaders, parents and teens to toughen up their neighborhoods with youth-oriented drug education activities for both young and old.

“To bring about real demand reduction, people need facts they know are real and that’s been missing from most drug education programs,” says Rev. Bob Adams, spokesperson for the Church of Scientology International and a former National Football League player.  “To resist a drug pusher, a peer or anyone else encouraging drug abuse, one’s knowledge about drugs has to be certain and firm.”

The Church’s community drug education programs have been conducted at a grass-roots level by both Scientologists and non-Scientologists since the mid-1980s.  Adams says toughening up neighborhoods against drugs benefits everybody.  “Today we are all affected by drug abuse in some way or another and it’s not just illegal street drugs and youth.  Prescription drug abuse is also a huge problem.  All of it directly relates to health, crime, and safety, and things people don’t immediately think of in relation to drugs, like success and economics.  The truth is that today, if you’re not well educated about drugs, you are at risk.”

In addition to its anti-drug advocacy and community activation, the Church sponsors the Foundation for a Drug-Free World, the international provider of The Truth About Drugs education materials available in 20 languages.  Based on authoritative surveys and studies, The Truth About Drugs series includes abundant first hand testimonials in a youth-friendly format: 13 pocket-sized booklets and short videos covering the most commonly abused drugs, a new documentary based on interviews with over 200 former addicts, which can be seen and ordered free, at www.drugfreeworld.org.

“The Truth About Drugs Documentary and booklets are upfront, poignant and real,” says Adams.  “They empower youth, parents, educators, law enforcement, social workers and anyone else concerned because it’s not about scare tactics—it’s true life experiences with facts.”

The United Nations International Day Against Illicit Drugs and Trafficking was established in 1987 by UN resolution 42/112 to strengthen action and cooperation in achieving an international society free of drug abuse.

_{The Conchoo Dance Group performs a traditional dance, welcoming the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tour to Papua New Guinea.}

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers South Pacific Goodwill Tour was officially welcomed by traditional dancers and local dignitaries at a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Murray Army Barracks in Papua New Guinea June 7.  Tour members and officials spoke of working to tackle illiteracy and poverty through seminars and courses that the tour will provide at local level throughout the island.

The United Nations Millennium Development Goals include improving  literacy as a pivotal target for eradicating poverty, increasing opportunity and guaranteeing other human rights.  Of all Pacific island nations, Papua New Guinea ranks lowest in both literacy and standard of living, with some 30 percent of the population living on a dollar or less a day.  To make inroads against this crucial problem, the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tour is providing free seminars and courses to teachers and students across the island.

Established in 1976 by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, the Scientology Volunteer Ministers program enables people to better cope with common problems and stresses of life and independently improve their situations.  Scientology Churches and Missions provide training in Volunteer Ministers know-how and sponsor Volunteer Ministers activities in their areas.

In 2004, to extend the reach of the Volunteer Ministers program, ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige launched the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tours, enabling teams of volunteers to bring help to remote areas including South and West Africa, Southern Asia, India, the South Pacific, Eastern Europe, Siberia, the Australian Outback, and Latin America.

For more information, visit the Scientology Volunteer Ministers website.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers from Haiti and other nations march from the Port-au-Prince suburb of Carrefour to the city of Léogâne to garner support for the next phase of Haiti relief.

Flag Day in Haiti May 18 took on new significance this year as Haitians and friends from around the world reaffirmed their commitment to rebuild the country from the January 2010 earthquake.

In this spirit, 100 Haitian Scientology Volunteer Ministers, joined by dozens of Volunteer Ministers from abroad, made the hour-long march from the Port-au-Prince suburb of Carrefour to the city of Léogâne Tuesday, May 18, waving the Haitian flag with its motto “unity and freedom” and carrying bright yellow banners proclaiming “Something can be done about it”-the motto of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers.

In the village of Mariani on the outskirts of Léogâne, Scientology Volunteer Ministers from Canada, Russia, the Ukraine, Mexico, Hungary, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark and the United States joined their Haitian colleagues in the Haitian national anthem while Max Beauvoir, Haiti’s main voodoo leader, raised the Haitian flag at the Volunteer Ministers tent where volunteers provide free training and one-on-one help.

Haitian Flag Day marks the day in 1803 when native leaders ripped the white field out of the French  “tri-color” flag, forming a symbol of unity in their decade-long fight against French oppression that kept 500,000 enslaved on the island. Eight months later, this became the official flag for the new nation of Haiti.

Despite the passion and determination of the Haitian people, which made Haiti the only nation ever formed of a successful slave revolt, even before the January earthquake Haiti was the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.  Some 300,000 Haitian children were orphaned or living without parents.  Of 182 nations on Earth Haiti ranked 125th in literacy and 158th in Gross Domestic Product per capita.

These factors and a host of other social issues indicate it was not just an act of nature that devastated Haiti in January.  These issues are what the Scientology Volunteer Ministers address in their training.

For example, there is no official building code in Haiti, and the city of Port-au-Prince was doomed to collapse.  Anne Kiremidjian, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, described it in these terms: “Even a moderate sized event would have toppled these buildings down.  This earthquake was a very large event and they had absolutely no chance of standing up.” 
While Scientology Volunteer Ministers continue to do relief work and construction projects in Haiti hospitals, clinics, orphanages and refugee camps, they are working on a longer-range program to tackle the underlying social issues that brought Haiti to the brink of destruction and ensure the country emerges from this disaster a strong society whose people have the opportunity they deserve.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers have opened 300 Volunteer Ministers groups in Haiti and are training government agencies, community and religious leaders, educators, students and scouts.  With so many traumatized, they begin with a seminar called “Assists for Injuries and Illnesses,” containing technology developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard to handle the emotional and spiritual effects of loss and injury.  They follow up with training in study technology to increase literacy and the ability to apply one’s education.  Then come workshops in the basics of organization, planning, and communication skills, to ensure the people of Haiti have the tools they need.

In developing the Scientology Volunteer Ministers program in 1976, L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “It is important to understand bad conditions don’t just happen. The cultural decay we see around us isn’t haphazard. It was caused. Unless one understands this he won’t be able to defend himself or reach out into the society with effectiveness.” To learn more about the courses and seminars visit the Scientology Volunteer Ministers website. To follow the work of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers in Haiti, visit the Volunteer Ministers Blog.

LOS ANGELES—The Church of Scientology International Human Rights Department presented Founder and President of Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI), Dr. Mary Shuttleworth, a certificate of commendation Saturday, praising her completion of a 13-country journey promoting human rights education.  Coinciding with the 13th International Day of Families, Shuttleworth was acknowledged particularly for empowering children and families through human rights education.

A veteran educator, Shuttleworth founded Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) in 2001 to activate youth in preserving human rights for others and themselves. “Children who have no concept of their rights are at far greater risk than those who are informed,” said Shuttleworth.

During the three-month trip across Mexico, Central and South America, Africa, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Taiwan, Japan and Hawaii, Shuttleworth lectured to thousands of students at 36 universities and schools on the articles of the United Nations Universal Decaration of Human Rights.  She also met with more than 120 educators, community leaders and national and state human rights authorities to discuss ways of increasing human rights education and awareness.

In addition to carrying out international human rights educational programs and hosting an annual Youth Summit, YHRI publishes educational booklets and DVDs based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, an international document ratified by the United Nations December 10, 1948.  YHRI also provides teachers a free Educator’s Kit which can be ordered online at www.youthforhumanrights.org

Scientology Volunteer Ministers from Russia complete journey across 10 time zones helping thousands along the length of the Trans-Siberian Railway

A team of Scientology Volunteer Ministers from Russia have completed a 19,000-mile journey across 10 time zones—a journey that began in Moscow four years ago.  Since August 2006 these volunteers have traveled the length of the Trans-Siberian Railway giving lectures, seminars and courses to some 8,000 individuals on communication skills, study technology, conflict resolution, salvaging marriages, raising happy children and 14 other subjects contained in the Scientology Handbook. In each location they trained Volunteer Ministers and established groups to continue to help their communities.

On August 1, 2006, a 20-member Scientology Volunteer Ministers team boarded the Trans-Siberian Railroad at the first station on the line—the Yaroslavsky station in Moscow—and began a trek across 5,800 miles and 10 time zones to the Pacific Ocean seaport of Vladivostok.  In the summer months they set up their signature yellow tent—a 3,400-square-foot pavilion with lecture rooms, classrooms, and a display describing the Volunteer Ministers program.  In winter months, when temperatures never rose above zero for months on end, they provided their services in rented halls.

Trans-Siberian Goodwill Tour leader Sergey Nikitin said, “We are here to provide effective help—that is our purpose.  Our motto is ‘Something can be done about it,’ and that means not only in times of major disasters and emergencies but in everyday life.”

The Volunteer Ministers delivered lectures and seminars and provided classes and one-on-one help in Perm, Ekaterinburg, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Zheleznogorsk, Ulan-Ude, Chita, Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk and Vladivostok, in hospitals, orphanages, government offices, fire station, invalid centers,  veteran associations, businesses, clubs or women’s groups.

To ensure the courses and assistance would continue to be available with neighbor helping neighbor, in each city the Volunteer Ministers trained local residents as Volunteer Ministers and helped them establish groups to sustain the assistance after the tour moved on.

Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard created the Volunteer Minister program in answer to escalating crime and violence in the later 1960s and early 1970s, to provide practical tools for engendering understanding and compassion. The program has expanded to 203,000 Volunteer Ministers worldwide who have served at 185 disaster sites, including Ground Zero after 9/11, the Southeast Asia tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and Haiti.
For more information on the Scientology Volunteer Ministers, visit their website at www.volunteerministers.org.

Scientology Volunteer Minister, nurse and EMT Ayal Lindeman at Port-au-Prince General Hospital in March 2010 with Benitha, whose life he and a Haitian physician saved.

It was January 2010, a week and a half after the 7.0 earthquake hit Port-au-Prince.  Benitha, a dying Haitian woman in a ward at General Hospital, called out for help—to no one, to everyone.  Earlier that day, attempts to help her failed because they didn’t have the needed equipment or medications.  Medical staff were stretched far beyond their ability to cope—with a handful of doctors covering the entire compound and hundreds and hundreds of patients in urgent need of care, there was nothing more they could do for Benitha.  The woman was literally drowning in her own fluids.

The nurse on the ward was Scientology Volunteer Minister Ayal Lindeman. “I went up to Benitha and put my hand on her shoulder,” said Lindeman.  “I told her ‘if this is it—if you are going to go on this part of your journey and this is how it’s going to be, then you’re at least going to know you’re cared for, you’re at least going to know you’re loved, you’re at least going to know you matter and you’re not going to be alone, and I don’t know what else I can do for you—but at least I’ll do that.”

While scouring the hospital to find anything he could to help her, Lindeman met a Cuban-trained Haitian pediatrician in one of the many tents of the hospital compound. Hearing of the woman’s condition, the doctor told him of a procedure often done in Cuba without high-tech equipment.  If Lindeman could scrounge the parts to create the device he would need, they might be able to save her life.

Lindeman built the device from a 16-gauge needle, intravenous tubing and regulator wheel, an empty water bottle that he cleaned out with bleach, and some tape to make a butterfly valve.  With this apparatus, they worked together and removed two liters of fluid from the woman’s abdomen.  Her blood pressure dropped six points and she started to recover.

Lindeman remained in Haiti for four weeks, leaving in mid February only to bring three patients to the United States for care they could not get in Haiti.  He returned to Haiti in March.  He describes walking back onto the ward at General Hospital and seeing one the most beautiful sights of his life—a huge smile on the face of the woman whose life he helped save.  Benitha was alive, recovering and making plans for life outside the hospital.  Having lost everything she owned in the earthquake, she asked Lindeman for one more favor: a tent to live in when she got out of the hospital.

“From a woman everyone feared would never live through that night, this was one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard,” said Lindeman.

Back again in the United States, Lindeman was checking out the price of tents at a local store one day after work, still in his scrubs. Another shopper noticed his Project Medishare for Haiti bracelet and asked if he had been to the country. “When I said yes, she said she had donated money for Haiti but wanted to do something where she knew she had really made a difference,” said Lindeman. “I told her about the woman who needed a tent, and she insisted on paying for it on the spot. She had bought Benitha a home.”

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers program was described by L. Ron Hubbard in the following terms when he created it more than 30 years ago: “A Volunteer Minister is a person who helps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by restoring purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others.”  For more information on the Scientology Haiti Disaster Response, visit the Volunteer Ministers blog at blog.volunteerministers.org.

The Church of Scientology honored five Florida groups during National Volunteer Week.
CLEARWATER, FLORIDA—The Church of Scientology in Clearwater honored five Florida groups with National Volunteer Week awards at the historic Fort Harrison Friday, April 23.  Recognized at the event were Project Medishare, Feeding America Tampa Bay, United Way Tampa Bay, the United Relief Force Foundation and the Willa Carson Health Resource Center.

_{Accepting awards and $1000 pledge at a National Volunteer Week luncheon at the Fort Harrison, presented by Church of Scientology Public Affairs Director Pat Harney (center) are (left to right) Annie Tyrell, Executive Director of the Willa Carson Health Resource Center; Ernestine Carson Heastie, daughter of Willa Carson and board member of the organization; Harney; Muhammad Abdur Rahim, Carson Center board member; and Judy Fagerman, head of Scientology Volunteer Ministers of Tampa Bay. The pledge is for the Carson Center 5K and 10K walk/run fundraiser.}

“We know the value of volunteers and our parishioners work actively to address drug abuse and crime, clean up the environment, tutor children and adults and do any of the myriad tasks it takes to improve the quality of life in our communities,” said Pat Harney, Public Affairs Director of the Church of Scientology in Clearwater.  “We join other Americans in honoring those who freely give their time and energy to help others.”

_{Willene Hayward (left), Volunteer Coordinator of Feeding America Tampa Bay, is acknowledged by Pat Harney, Church of Scientology Public Affairs Director, and Judy Fagerman, head of Scientology Volunteer Ministers of Tampa Bay.}

Willene Hayward accepted the award on behalf of Feeding America Tampa Bay, formerly known as America’s Second Harvest.  Hayward is volunteer coordinator of the food bank that serves 35,000 Tampa Bay residents.

Also honored were Project Medishare of the University of Miami Hospital, which organized, built and staffed the largest field hospital in history on the airport grounds of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to care for the casualties of the January 12 earthquake; Hands On Tampa Bay, the volunteer network of United Way of Tampa Bay, which coordinates the work of 3,500 volunteers in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties; and the United Relief Force Foundation, formed by Orlando college students in 2007 and providing humanitarian aid, emergency response and disaster relief to countries experiencing natural and man-made disasters. Several of the Orlando group’s members joined forces with the Scientology Volunteer Ministers to help provide disaster relief in Haiti this year.

“This award event was inspired by the founder of the Scientology religion, L. Ron Hubbard, who said, ‘A being is only as valuable as he can serve others,’” said Harney.  The Church of Scientology makes facilities of the Fort Harrison Hotel available to non-profit charity organizations for their meetings and events.

For information or to schedule the Fort Harrison for events, contact Pat Harney at (727) 467-6860 or email her at patharney@flag.org.

Marking National Volunteer Week, Scientology Church praises 1,000 volunteers for more than 150,000 hours in Haiti relief effort

The Church of Scientology International, mother church of the Scientology religion, today acknowledged 1,000 volunteers who have served in Haiti since the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

The Rev. Robert Adams of the Los Angeles-based Church of Scientology International presented a special Letter of Commendation to Scientology Volunteer Ministers International director Maria Reyher, citing the life-saving actions of all the volunteers who were sponsored by the Church to travel to Haiti.

“Through the dedicated work of these volunteers, thousands of Haitian lives were saved,” said Rev. Adams in the ceremony at the Church’s international headquarters. These volunteers have logged more than 150,000 volunteer hours giving aid to more than 200,000 individuals in hospitals and clinics, IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps, schools and orphanages.

“It is only fitting that in this National Volunteer Week, we say thank you to these volunteers, Scientologists and non-Scientologists alike, who served with dedication and effectiveness in this time of extreme need in Haiti. Others are alive because they served,” Rev. Adams said.

Volunteer Ministers International director Maria Reyher accepted the Letter of Commendation from the Church on behalf of all 1,000 volunteers, those who went to Haiti and the hundreds who worked behind the scenes making it possible for the Church to charter five flights and a supply ship to bring volunteers and 131 tons of humanitarian supplies to Haiti.

“Volunteers are the backbone in any relief effort, but all the more so in Haiti where help was and still is so desperately needed,” said Reyher. “Every volunteer who served there knows that human beings are alive today because someone was willing to help, despite sometimes extreme personal hardship and discomfort.”

“This award is their award,” Reyher said, announcing that her office is presenting all 1,000 volunteers with copies of the Letter of Commendation—Scientology Volunteer Ministers and those who traveled with the Scientology team to Haiti, including volunteers from AMHE (Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad), BSVAC (Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps), Amerihelp (AHAMES), Hands for the Needy Foundation, A.I.M.E.R. Haiti and the 911 Foundation.

In establishing the Volunteer Ministers program in the 1970s, Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard wrote: “A Volunteer Minister does not shut his eyes to the pain, evil and injustice of existence. Rather, he is trained to handle these things and help others achieve relief from them and new personal strength as well.” “There has never been a time when this mandate has been more important,” said Rev. Adams.

Reyher confirmed that the Scientology Haiti Disaster Response Team is in Haiti “for the long haul, committed to helping the people of this country rebuild their nation and their lives.”

For more information on the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Haiti Disaster Response, visit the Volunteer Ministers blog at blog.volunteerministers.org.

HAITI—A Scientology-sponsored “Lifeboat to Haiti” arrived in Port-au-Prince April 8, carrying more than 100 tons of urgently needed supplies including medicine, medical equipment, an ambulance, food, cooking stoves and tents. 

In the first weeks following the earthquake, the Church of Scientology sponsored five chartered flights, bringing more than 440 doctors, nurses and emergency medical technicians and 280 Scientology Volunteer Ministers to the island, helping more than 200,000 people through their combined efforts in the first two and a half months. 

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers are in Haiti for the long haul, not only providing disaster relief but also working with local government and civic groups and community leaders who are determined to improve the quality of life for all Haitians. 

Scientology Volunteer Ministers work in the IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camps providing food, water, and other supplies and training people in Scientology Assists—techniques developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard that help the individual overcome the emotional and spiritual aspects of trauma and stress. 

The Volunteers Ministers are also establishing a base in Petionville to provide free training to individuals and groups including teachers, students, disaster relief groups and government agencies.  This training addresses the underlying social issues and skills needed to bring about lasting improvement. Seminars and courses include subjects such as communication skills, the basics of organizing and study technology.  So far, they have provided seminars and classes to over 8,000 local residents.

For more information on the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Haiti Response Team, visit their web site at blog.volunteerministers.org.

On United Nations Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Scientologists call for widespread human rights education to foster inter-cultural dialogue and greater tolerance

LOS ANGELES—Volunteers from Churches of Scientology in 21 countries including the United States, Canada, France, Denmark, Russia, Australia and South Africa gathered signatures on human rights petitions on March 21, commemorating United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Discrimination.  The petition drives galvanized support for human rights education, promoting the values embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which emphasizes “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”

The Declaration was ratified by the UN General Assembly more than 60 years ago, yet racial and ethnic conflicts fuel wars throughout the world.  Scientologists say the answer is in human rights education.

The United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed each year on the anniversary of the day in 1960 when police opened fire in Sharpeville, South Africa, on a crowd of unarmed Black South Africans, killing 69 civilians who were protesting the repressive apartheid regime.

In a speech  50 years after the Sharpeville tragedy, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, “The United Nations marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on this solemn anniversary to reaffirm our commitment to guard against a repeat of the horrors rooted in racism—from slavery to the Holocaust, from apartheid to ethnic cleansing and genocide.”

In addition to grassroots activities such as petition drives, Churches of Scientology partner with Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) to carry out a human rights awareness campaign to educate people of all ages on human rights.

“Most people don’t know the rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” said Tracie Morrow, Youth Coordinator for the Los Angeles-based Church of Scientology International Human Rights Office. “Without an understanding of these rights,  people will not demand their own rights, let alone respect and defend the rights of others. Through human rights education we have found young people become much more tolerant and understanding, and many are inspired to become human rights advocates,” said Morrow.

The Church of Scientology has championed human rights for more than 50 years and sponsors the largest non-governmental information campaign to make the Universal Declaration of Human Rights known the world over. The Church’s human rights initiative sponsors groups and activities and has provided its materials to individuals, groups and government agencies in 185 nations.  For more information on the human rights initiative of the Church of Scientology, visit the Scientology website.

The NBC affiliate, WTVJ Miami, came out to film the Scientology Volunteer Ministers loading a ship with supplies for the Haiti relief effort.

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Representatives of the Miami Haitian Community Award Scientology Volunteer Ministers for Haiti Disaster Relief Effort

MIAMI (March 19, 2010)- A Scientology-sponsored ship is loading up with supplies for Haiti, including wood-burning stoves from the charity founded by the Lola Poisson-Joseph, wife of the Haitian Ambassador to the United States.  The 896-ton Hornbeam, a former U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker, is transporting more than 165 tons of cargo to Haiti including an ambulance, a school bus and more than 20,000 Meals Ready to Eat.

In a dockside ceremony welcoming the Hornbeam to Miami, North Miami Beach City Council member John Patrick Julien presented the Scientology Volunteer Ministers with the key to the City of North Miami Beach on behalf of Mayor Myron Rosner and a proclamation dedicating a day to a Scientology Volunteer Ministers for their work in Haiti.

Also present were Phillip Brutus, former Florida State Representative and current candidate for U.S. Congress; Daphne D. Campbell, RN, Haitian community leader and candidate for the Florida State House of Representatives; Marleine Bastien, executive director and co-founder of Haitian American Women Association (FANM) and the Haiti Relief Task Force; and Marie Yolaine Ferdilus, co-chair of Haitian Relief Task Force and founder of Legal Protection of America.

The supplies on the “Lifeboat for Haiti,” scheduled to depart for Haiti this coming week, were donated by more than a dozen churches, charities and groups and will be delivered to schools, orphanages, hospitals, churches and disaster response groups in Haiti, including the Notre Dame de la Naiveté Orphanage, AIMER Haiti, Operation Compassion, and the Scientology Haiti Disaster Response Team, which has provided emergency relief services in Haiti for the past two months.

Since the January 12 earthquake, the Church of Scientology has transported more than 360 medical professionals and 300 Volunteer Ministers to Haiti.  The Scientology Volunteer Ministers continue to provide support to doctors, nurses and EMTs, deliver food and water to the IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps, and help with reconstruction, disaster response training and trauma relief.

For more information on the Scientology Volunteer Ministers, visit their web site at blog.volunteerministers.org.