Scientology Volunteer Ministers Helping Fiji Recover From Deadly Cyclone

Christian pastor heads team responding to Cyclone Winston.

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Mar 17, 2016, 09:21 ET

NALALAWA, Fiji, March 17, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pastor Alfred (Alfy) Waqa and his team of 10 Volunteer Ministers are helping their village of Nalalawa, Fiji, recover from Cyclone Winston.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160317/345619

The storm rampaged through the island on February 20, killing 42. With wind gusts near its center at some 200 miles per hour, Cyclone Winston is the strongest tropical storm ever measured in the Southern Hemisphere.

Pastor Alfy's Volunteer Ministers are working in their village to help with the cleanup. The storm, which ripped at least one village house right off its foundation, damaged most of the local dwellings.

Pastor Alfy became a Volunteer Minister in 2012 when the Scientology Volunteer Ministers South Pacific Goodwill Tour helped the island recover from severe floods. He studied the program's courses and immediately established a Volunteer Ministers group.

Last year, Pastor Alfy provided disaster relief in the nearby island nation of Vanuatu after Cyclone Pam. And just as he was completing his mission there, the Nepal earthquake struck and he joined the Volunteer Ministers Nepal Disaster Response.

One of the most important skills of a Volunteer Minister is Scientology assists—techniques developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard that address the spiritual and emotional components in stress and trauma. To make the most impact possible in helping the villagers recover from the impact Cyclone Winston has had on their lives, Pastor Alfy and his Volunteer Ministers are training villagers to provide these techniques to one another. So far, they have trained 50 to deliver these procedures.

Whether serving in their communities or on the other side of the world, the motto of the Scientology Volunteer Minister is "Something can be done about it." The program, created in the mid 1970s by L. Ron Hubbard and sponsored by the Church of Scientology International as a religious social service, constitutes one of the world's largest and most visible international independent relief forces.

The Volunteer Minister "helps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by restoring purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others."

A global network of Volunteer Ministers mobilizes in times of man-made and natural disasters, answering the call wherever needed. Collaborating with some 1,000 organizations and agencies, they have utilized their skill and experience in providing physical support and spiritual aid at hundreds of disaster sites.

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SOURCE Church of Scientology International