Volunteer Ministers and the Help They Provide

25 Oct 2006 — Scientology Assist Technology Adopted by Disaster Relief Agencies of Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Four months ago a team of Scientology Volunteer Ministers responded to the call for emergency relief workers when the 6.3 magnitude earthquake destroyed most of the infrastructure and left an estimated 600,000 to 1.5 million homeless in the Province of Yogyakarta, Indonesia on the Island of Java.

The first priority of the team of Scientologists, who came from the Church of Scientology of Perth, Australia, and were joined by members of the Scientology Disaster Relief Team of Medan, was to care for the immediate physical needs of the survivors, working in makeshift auxiliary hospital spaces set up in garages and village squares.

With an estimated 36,000 injured, they provided Scientology Assist technology to help emergency personnel supplement the medical care and first aide, that was crucial to saving lives in those first few days.

With people recovering much faster with the help of Scientology Assists, the Scientology Disaster Relief Team was soon seen as vital to the recovery of the region. Health workers, emergency relief personal and community groups in towns and villages eagerly participated in seminars where they learned how to help one another using these techniques.

But it was only when the immediate danger was over that the Scientology volunteers could begin to concentrate on providing the help they are uniquely capable of giving -- assisting people overcome trauma.

And so began a new phase of Assist training, and the implementation of Dianetics workshops in all sectors of the society.

In his research into the mind and spirit, L. Ron Hubbard discovered the existence of a part of the mind where incidents containing pain, shock and trauma are stored. He called this the "Reactive Mind." It is defined in the Scientology Glossary as follows: "that part of the mind which works on a totally stimulus-response basis, which is not under a person's volitional control, and which exerts force and the power of command over his awareness, purposes, thoughts, body and actions."

Dianetics techniques eradicate the harmful effects of incidents that are stored in the Reactive Mind, and so help the individual recover from the potentially crippling emotional and spiritual effects of traumatic incidents such as those, which touched the lives of nearly every person in this region.

Having put more than 13 thousand emergency workers, health care professionals, teachers, community leaders and villagers through Assist training and Dianetics workshops, the Scientology Disaster Relief Team completed the first phase of their activities in this primarily Islamic country before the celebration of Ramadan began in late September.

The team has been asked to return to continue their work and they are planning a November launch of professional-level Dianetics training, which they will provide to the many people who have contacted them asking for this service.

Before they left, the Scientology Disaster Relief Team, used administrative technology developed by L. Ron Hubbard to organize the many groups they established with team leaders for each. And all of these groups are being coordinated by the government's own disaster management program, because the government official who runs that service has now assumed an additional responsibility -- he is now the Lead Volunteer Minister for the entire area.