Scientology Disaster Response Team Helps Quito Dig Out After Devastating Landslide
Scientology Volunteer Ministers from Ecuador work with rescue workers and cleanup crews to help the city recover.
The worst downpour in nearly two decades unleashed a landslide on Quito’s La Gasca and La Comuna neighborhoods January 31 to February 1. A torrent of water, mud, rock and debris crashed down the slopes of Pichincha Volcano, toppling houses and killing 24. Waves of mud lifted motorcycles and cars and swept them away.
Scientology Volunteer Ministers coordinated with officials, disaster response specialists Los Topos Azteca, and other emergency personnel who are working to help those affected by the disaster.
With the whole area engulfed in mud, Volunteer Ministers in their bright yellow T-shirts grabbed shovels and worked with cleanup crews to clear the roads.
They distributed clothing donated by a local factory to families who lost their possessions in the disaster. They brought donated food and supplies to victims and rescue crews.
The Volunteer Ministers of Ecuador headquarters is the Church of Scientology Mission of Quito.
The Church of Scientology Volunteer Ministers program is a religious social service created in the mid-1970s by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard.
A Volunteer Minister’s mandate is to be “a person who helps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by restoring 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.”
The Scientology religion was founded by author and philosopher L. Ron Hubbard. The first Church of Scientology was formed in Los Angeles in 1954 and the religion has expanded to more than 11,000 Churches, Missions and affiliated groups, with millions of members in 167 countries.
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