Lending a Hand to a Community in Need

Social media brought together a tiny village on the northeastern border of Hungary and the Volunteer Ministers of the Church of Scientology Budapest—to everyone’s delight.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic has left most families in the tiny village of Bódvalenke, Hungary, teetering on the edge. So when a young mother from the town found a Facebook post about the Volunteer Ministers of the Church of Scientology Budapest and their work with the Tündérkör Foundation to provide food for families in need, she posted a comment asking for help.

Bódvalenke is no stranger to poverty. Most families there live below the poverty line in good times and had no resources to make it through months of quarantine during the coronavirus lockdown.

Several years ago, as a solution to the lack of employment in the region, the town transformed itself into the “fresco village” in hopes of attracting tourists. Eighteen Roma artists painted 33 huge murals depicting religious scenes, local legends and classic gypsy themes on the walls of the houses. According to the Budapest Times, at least half a dozen of these murals would be welcomed by the world’s great galleries and museums. But the result financially has been disappointing, because the village lacks the infrastructure to become a tourist destination. There are no hotels, no restaurants, and tourists have to go out of their way to get there: there is no nearby train station, and it takes three to five hours to drive there from Budapest. And this year, regulations to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic closed off the village from outside visitors.

On learning about the town and its needs, the Volunteer Ministers of the Church of Scientology Budapest raised funds to purchase 300 kg of fresh fruit, and more than a ton of long-lasting staples including potatoes, pasta, rice, vegetable oil, and canned goods. They also brought treats for all the children.

With the help of the mayor, they distributed the donations among all the families of the town, checking to ensure all residents received a share.

They also brought facemasks and copies of the booklet How to Keep Yourself and Others Well, which is published by the Church of Scientology to help prevent further spread of the coronavirus by educating people on prevention.

The Church of Scientology has published a How to Stay Well Prevention Center on the Scientology website. Available in Hungarian and 19 other languages, it provides information on how to prevent the spread of illness and help people keep themselves and others well. 

As restrictions begin to lift, it is even more important to understand how germs spread and how to keep yourself and your family well to prevent a reversal in the progress gained over the last several months since they were put into place. Simple videos and booklets on the How to Stay Well Prevention Center make it easy to understand what anyone can do to keep themselves and others well.

With the motto “an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure,” the website includes information on how to properly wash your hands, the correct use of masks and gloves, social distancing tips, how to clean and sanitize your home, and what to do if you become sick or have symptoms.

The Church of Scientology Volunteers Minister program is a religious social service created in the mid-1970s by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard. Anyone of any culture or creed may train as a Volunteer Minister and use these tools to help their families and communities.