Taking on whatever task is needed to help Wajima City recover from the devastating January 1 disaster

It was no ordinary New Year’s Day for those living in Japan’s Ishikawa prefecture. They would ordinarily spend the day with a prayer for the new year at a temple or by visiting family. This year, on New Year’s Day, faults that lay dormant for more than 3,000 years suddenly triggered a 7.6 magnitude earthquake. More than 200 died and tens of thousands were displaced. Scientology Volunteer Ministers of Tokyo, joined by others from as far away as Pakistan, responded to bring help to Wajima, one of the cities hardest hit by the disaster.

On arriving, they met with disaster response personnel at city hall and began helping with clearing away rubble and ensuring first responders had what they needed to continue the grueling work of searching for survivors. 

Setting up at an evacuation center, they organized supplies and began preparing and delivering hot food to those sheltering there and defense forces personnel serving in the area.

Once these immediate needs were cared for, the Volunteer Ministers began providing Scientology Assists, techniques developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard that bring relief by addressing the emotional and spiritual factors in stress and trauma. 

One man told the volunteer that for the first time since the disaster happened, he felt warm, refreshed and lighter. Aches and pains diminished. Others commented how the anxiety they’d been living with seemed to lift. 

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers program is a religious social service created in the mid-1970s by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard. It constitutes one of the world’s largest independent relief forces.

Mr. Hubbard described a Volunteer Minister as “a person who helps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by restoring purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others.” Their creed: “A Volunteer Minister does not shut his eyes to the pain, evil and injustice of existence. Rather, he is trained to handle these things and help others achieve relief from them and new personal strength as well.”

Their motto is no matter the circumstances, “Something can be done about it.”

Scientology Volunteer Ministers’ international response to the pandemic is documented in Operation: Do Something About It, a feature-length film produced by Scientology Media Productions that premiered in December on International Volunteer Day. Scientology Network, which also features a documentary on the Church of Scientology Tokyo, is available on DIRECTV Channel 320, DIRECTV STREAM, AT&T U-verse and streams at Scientology.tv, on mobile apps and via the Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV platforms. Since launching with an introduction by Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige in March 2018, the Scientology Network has been viewed in 237 countries and territories in 17 languages.