Ukranian Volunteers Help Flood Victims

Recent floods in the Ukraine have been described as the worst disaster to hit that country since Chernobyl. Scientology Volunteer Ministers traveled to the most inaccessible areas in the Ivano-Frankovsky Region of the Ukraine to help those most affected.

With mountain towns cut off from land communications, and the threat of avalanche, those living in the region were desperate for help. The Emergency Situations Department sent out an appeal for volunteers to assist, and a team of 10 Ukrainian Scientology Volunteer Ministers responded immediately, traveling to Verkhovinsky, in the Ivano-Frankovsky Region—the area that suffered most from the disaster.

In the village of Krivovirnya, the only building damaged by the flooding itself was a local school, but whole sections of the town were destroyed when land in this mountainous region, saturated by flood waters, displaced buildings, sometimes even overturning them. Local residents, with no other place to go, continued to live in their homes, never knowing if they were going to wake up to the sound of the building collapsing or sliding down the mountain.

Scientologists provided relief to some 50 residents of the village, packing up their belongings and finding them temporary shelter. The also helped them cope with the experience, using Scientology assists, techniques developed by Scientology Founder, L. Ron Hubbard that help a person overcome the emotional, mental and spiritual effects of trauma.

"Thank you very much," said one who was helped by the Scientology Volunteer Ministers. "A word of encouragement is worth much more than money. Yesterday I cried, but today I laugh."

For more information on the Scientology Volunteer Ministers and their disaster response teams visit the Scientology Volunteer Ministers web site or Scientology.org.