Scientology Volunteer Ministers pledge to help build
a brighter future for Haiti on country's Flag Day

| Port-au-Prince, Haiti 18 May 2010 |

Scientology Volunteer Ministers from Haiti and other nations march from the Port-au-Prince suburb of Carrefour to the city of Léogane in celebration of Flag Day, a national holiday commemorating Haiti’s independence from French oppression and slavery in 1803.
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 Léogane on 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 Léogane, Scientology Volunteer Ministers from Canada, Russia, 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—making Haiti the only nation successfully formed following a slave revolt—Haiti was the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, even before the earthquake. Some 300,000 children were orphaned or living without parents, and, of 182 nations, Haiti ranked 125th in literacy and 158th in Gross Domestic Product.

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 280 Volunteer Minister groups in Haiti and are training government agencies, community and religious leaders, educators, students and scouts. With so many traumatized in Haiti, the training often begins with either seminars on “Solutions to a Dangerous Environment,” or “Assists for Injuries and Illnesses,” both containing technology developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard to help an individual overcome the traumatic effects of such disaster. Workshops then usually follow on the basics of organization, planning and communication skills, ensuring the people of Haiti have the tools they need to rebuild their lives and their homeland.

In developing the Scientology Volunteer Minister 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 at www.volunteerministers.org/train.