Volunteer Ministers Provide Critical Support to Flood Survivors in Eastern Australia

Survivors of Eastern Australia’s November floods share what it meant to them when Scientology Volunteer Ministers arrived on the scene.

In the wake of one of the worst floods in Eastern Australia’s history, Scientology Volunteer Ministers from the Church of Scientology of Sydney launched their disaster response, providing support to survivors and clearing away damage from the storm.

In November, in Eugowra, New South Wales, rapidly rising floodwaters surged over the village like an inland tsunami, lifting entire homes from their foundations and damaging around 80 percent of local houses and businesses.

“When the Volunteer Ministers came,” says one resident, “it was a calming influence” as they cleared away “the most horrendous debris ... working day and night virtually.”

“They centred me, spent time with me, not just working with their hands but caring about what they were doing,” says another Eugowra resident. “It made all the difference to me. Made me feel like I had friends and support.”

“Sometimes you just need someone to talk to.… You just need a human touch,” said another. “They saw something that needed doing and they did something about it.”

The Church of Scientology Volunteer Ministers programme is a religious social service created in the mid-1970s by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard. Volunteer Ministers care for the needs of their communities and provide practical skills through training in the Scientology Tools for Life. Anyone may learn these and use them to improve conditions in their life.

A Volunteer Minister’s mandate is to be “a person who helps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by restoring purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others.” Their creed is: “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.”

Their motto is no matter the circumstances, “Something Can Be Done About It.”