Within minutes of the devastating April 2015 earthquake in Nepal, Binod Sharma embarked on a journey that has continued to today, coordinating the relief efforts of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers of Nepal as well as Volunteer Ministers and their partners who traveled from around the world to help his country recover from what may be the worst natural disaster in his nation’s history.
The United Nations established World Humanitarian Day “to recognize those who face danger and adversity in order to help others,”—men and women like Sharma and those he leads.
This year on World Humanitarian Day, Ideal Scientology Organizations (Orgs) on six continents are paying tribute to first responders—the hundreds of thousands of men and women who respond to disasters.
In his World Humanitarian Day message, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stated: “This year, more than 100 million women, men and children need life-saving humanitarian assistance. The amount of people affected by conflict has reached levels not seen since the Second World War, while the number of those affected by natural and human-induced disasters remains profound. Each one of us can make a difference.”
At every Scientology Church and Mission and in communities around the world, Volunteer Ministers (VMs) stand ready to respond whenever disaster strikes.
In Nepal, VMs and their partners, the Mexican search and rescue team Los Topos, Colombia’s National Circle of Aid Technicians, CINAT, and VM-trained Nepal Scouts routinely faced danger with courage and conviction. Even while the aftershocks continued toppling buildings, they provided care—both physical and spiritual—to survivors, forgoing sleep for days in some cases while living under the same hazardous conditions as residents of the devastated areas.
When the Mexico City Maternity Hospital erupted in flames in March, Los Topos and the Volunteer Ministers spent days on end helping to secure the safety of the neighborhood.
When a Category 5 cyclone hit the island of Vanuatu in the Pacific, a Volunteer Minister from Fiji arrived to train others and care for those who lost their homes and livelihood. No sooner had that mission been completed than the earthquake struck and he headed out to Nepal.
And so it has been in country after country, year after year, that the Volunteer Ministers respond to disasters on a moment’s notice.
But it is not just major and natural disasters Volunteer Ministers respond to. They also take on the entire gamut of personal disasters life throws at people—a child who has succumbed to drug addiction, a marriage gone bad, conflicts at work, in the family—even among nations. The Scientology Volunteer Minister responds to disasters great and small.
Established in the mid-1970s, the Volunteer Ministers program was developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard with the mandate to help “on a volunteer basis by restoring purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others.” Mr. Hubbard further described the Volunteer Minister as a person who “does not shut his eyes to the pain, evil and injustice of existence.”
About The Volunteer Ministers
The Volunteer Ministers program was expressly intended for use by Scientologists and non-Scientologists alike.
Transcending all ethnic, cultural and religious boundaries, the Volunteer Ministers program is there for anyone in need of help. Volunteer Ministers training is available free of charge through the Scientology Volunteer Ministers website to anyone who wishes to help others.
