Volunteer Minister Creating a Revival of the Spirit in Kenya

Reaching thousands of people in Western Kenya, one Scientology Volunteer Minister is inspiring a resurgence of spiritual and moral values throughout the region.

For the past five years, Daniel Okello has been spearheading a peaceful revolution of increased self-worth and industry in villages throughout Western Kenya. The manager of a business school in the town of Suna-Migori near the border of Tanzania, Okello’s passion in life is his work as a Scientology Volunteer Minister.

Several weeks ago, a Baptist minister from his town reached out to Okello for help. He heard of Okello from other Christian pastors in the area and requested the Honesty and Integrity seminar to uplift the moral values of his flock and increase their commitment to holiness in the new year.

The seminar was based on a chapter of the Scientology Handbook, the manual of the Scientology Volunteer Minister and the source of the 19 free online courses on the Scientology website. The pastor was thrilled with the results. “This has given me a breakthrough in winning the hearts of the flock to recommit themselves in the church,” he said.

Okello discovered the Volunteer Ministers program five years ago after becoming discouraged about his business students’ learning problems. Searching online he found the Scientology website and the online course in Study Technology developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard.

He completed all 19 Volunteer Ministers courses and began delivering seminars based on this knowledge to churches of various denominations, schools, police departments, companies and social service organizations.

He presented the How to Resolve Conflicts seminar to an elder who is often called upon to mediate for his villagers. In another village, after the same seminar, a woman who was determined to divorce her husband decided to use the tools she learned to keep the marriage together. He trained staff and provided the Honesty and Integrity seminar at the maximum security Migori Prison to help inmates take stock of their lives and restore their self-respect.

He trains family members and medical staff at hospitals on Scientology assists—techniques that help speed healing by addressing the spiritual and emotional factors in stress and trauma.

Over the past five years, Okello has delivered more than 100 seminars in towns and villages throughout the region, bringing help to better than 8,000 people.

The Church of Scientology Volunteer Minister program is a religious social service created in the mid-1970s by L. Ron Hubbard. To make this technology broadly available, the Church provides free online training on the Volunteer Ministers website. Anyone of any culture or creed may train as a Volunteer Minister and use these tools to help their families and communities.

In creating the Volunteer Ministers program, L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “If one does not like the crime, cruelty, injustice and violence of this society, he can do something about it. He can become a Volunteer Minister and help civilize it, bring it conscience and kindness and love and freedom from travail by instilling into it trust, decency, honesty and tolerance.”