PRESS RELEASES
SPAIN •
Throughout the year, Scientologists provide drug education to reduce drug demand through education.
A study published in February 2014 in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment found that cocaine users admitted for drug abuse treatment in Spain suffer a fatality rate 5.1 times higher than the general population. Drug prevention volunteers from the National Church of Scientology of Spain have mobilized to tackle this situation.
TAICHUNG, TAIWAN •
Volunteers from the Church of Scientology Mission of Taichung help commuters cope with the pitfalls of modern lifestyles. Is there a way to cope with the negative aspects of city life? Volunteers from the Church of Scientology Mission of Taichung believe there is—The Way to Happiness, a commonsense moral code that empowers the individual to live a happy life no matter the circumstances.
VENEZUELA •
Volunteers from the Scientology Churches and Missions of Venezuela reach thousands this month in their campaign to combat drug abuse and its debilitating effects on the culture.
Day after day, Truth About Drugs volunteers from the Scientology Churches and Missions of Venezuela work at the grassroots level to uplift the culture by combating drug abuse before it begins.
WOBULENZI, UGANDA •
Scientology Volunteer Ministers conduct seminar in Central Uganda village of Wobulenzi
Some 35 miles (57 kilometers) north of Kampala in the Luwero District of Central Uganda, villagers of the town of Wobulenzi learned an important lesson at a Scientology Volunteer Ministers seminar on conflict resolution.
The town council chairman and local teachers were among the 900 villagers who attended the program conducted by a team of Kampala-based Scientology Volunteer Ministers.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA •
A recent graduate of the online Emotional Tone Scale Course learned why the motto of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers is “Something CAN be Done About It.”
Have you ever needed to know someone’s motives, and you just couldn’t be sure?
This was the exact scenario that prompted someone to enroll on the Emotional Tone Scale Course on the Volunteer Ministers website this week.
Not only did she learn significant information that helped her make some astute business choices, but what she learned also affected her personal life as well.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA •
Contributing to the welfare and survival of others is a fundamental principle of Scientology. Scientologists donate millions of man hours annually to help others.
The bedrock of our society is the men, women and children who volunteer their time to serve the community. And volunteers are the heart and soul of the many humanitarian programs supported by the Church of Scientology.
AMAZON RIVER, SOUTH AMERICA •
Scientology Volunteer Ministers Amazon River Goodwill Tour marks seven years of service. Group has provided one-on-one help to more than 200,000.
Flooding is so commonplace along the Amazon River that in some places, entire villages are built on stilts.
JAPAN •
To counter teen bullying and its consequences, Scientology-supported human rights group introduces young Japanese martial arts students to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA •
Volunteers from the Church of Scientology of Sydney encourage drug-free living in 2014
Sydney Scientologists celebrated the Chinese New Year by distributing thousands of copies of Truth About Drugs booklets at the Chinese New Year Market in the heart of the city. Their New Year’s wish: for 2014 to be a year of health and happiness, free from the harmful effects of drugs.
NIZHNY NOVGOROD, RUSSIA •
Volunteers from the Church of Scientology of Nizhny Novgorod help launch a different kind of Winter Olympics: the Anti-Drug Olympiad 2014.
Nine hundred miles north of Sochi, a second “Winter Olympics” has just begun: Drug education and prevention volunteers from the Church of Scientology Mission of Nizhny Novgorod helped launch the Anti-Drug Olympiad of 2014, an initiative aimed at helping youth live healthy, productive, drug-free lives.
TOKYO, JAPAN •
Church of Scientology supports drug education initiative that has reached more than 50,000 through drug education lectures
The volunteers of the drug education and prevention initiative supported by the Church of Scientology of Tokyo have just accomplished a milestone: They have now reached 50,000 people with drug education.
NIZHNY NOVGOROD, RUSSIA •
Volunteers from the Church of Scientology Mission of Nizhny Novgorod are committed to drug education year-round.
Volunteers from the Church of Scientology Mission of Nizhny Novgorod are out on the streets this January. They are distributing copies of drug education booklets to help local youth learn the truth about drugs and avoid the epidemic of heroin abuse that Russian Drug Czar Viktor Ivanov has described as a “dragon” that is “ravaging our youth.”
AFRICA •
Scientology Goodwill Tours—bringing effective solutions to communities for the past ten years
OKLAHOMA, USA •
Scientology Volunteer Ministers from across the United States volunteer to help communities cope when disaster strikes
With tornado season fast approaching (there were 39 U.S. tornadoes in February 2013) Scientology Volunteer Ministers teams from across the country are poised to respond.
The most erratic of natural disasters, the tornado strikes with a fury unparalleled by any other force of nature. So it was from May 19 to 31, when a series of tornados devastated Oklahoma and other Midwestern states.
ROME, ITALY •
Church of Scientology of Rome works with civic and religious leaders to promote freedom of thought, religion and conscience
The Church of Scientology of Rome hosted a religious freedom round table in December, “Integration and Cooperation: Tolerance, Respect of Religious Belief and Defense of Human Rights.”
The three-hour program focused on human dignity and the historic background of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA •
The Scientology Volunteer Ministers—one of the world’s most effective independent relief organizations
PHILIPPINES •
Bringing help to survivors of super typhoon Haiyan (known as Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines)
Since Typhoon Yolanda struck on November 8, 2013, a corps of 70 Scientology Volunteer Ministers from the Church of Scientology Mission of Manila and veteran disaster response specialists from the United States, Australia, Thailand and Japan have provided help to the people of the Philippines.
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM •
Brussels-based Churches of Scientology for Europe, dedicated to human rights and tolerance
Human Rights was the keynote of many of the activities organized by the Brussels-based Churches of Scientology for Europe in 2013.
The Church cosponsored the 10th annual Human Rights Summit, held this year at International Auditorium in Brussels and attended by youth delegates representing 30 nations. The Church also hosted the interreligious conference held on the final day of the Summit.
KAOHSIUNG, TAIWAN •
New Scientology Church raises awareness of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The crash of cymbals, the thundering roll of drums…
So began the procession began at the Church of Scientology of Kaohsiung in December in honor of the 65th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Church organized this human rights walk and open house to raise awareness of the basic rights every individual has.
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK •
Walk, co-sponsored by Scientology-supported human rights initiative, mobilizes youth to defend the rights of others
Copenhagen youth joined in the city’s fifth annual Walk for Human Rights in December to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Beginning in the center of Copenhagen at Vesterbro Torv, youth marched to the Street Mekka indoor sports complex where they gathered for a human rights rally and musical festival.