A U.S Special Forces blogger working in Haiti wrote a particularly frank and moving blog post yesterday which illustrates well the selfless hard work being done in Haiti by our volunteers, working in concert with the many dedicated medical, military and volunteer personnel on the ground.  He writes: 

My team and I are preparing for [...]]]>  

A U.S Special Forces blogger working in Haiti wrote a particularly frank and moving blog post yesterday which illustrates well the selfless hard work being done in Haiti by our volunteers, working in concert with the many dedicated medical, military and volunteer personnel on the ground.  He writes: 

My team and I are preparing for another launch into Haiti. The work is tiring, hours are long, but probably some of the most rewarding I have ever been involved with. As I previously wrote, the act of kindness and selfless service are abundant in Haiti. Everyday men and women working countless hours to aid the Haitian people and bring a level of humanity to this inhuman situation. Amazing to witness…

I want to shed some light to a group that is often ridiculed and mostly miss-understood. As my team and I worked to secure the University of Miami field hospital (in Port of Prince), we were approached by a group (no less than 20) of young people, all donning bright yellow t-shirts. Their shirts displayed their church affiliation. No, not a Baptist church, not a Catholic church, not even a Christian organization but instead they were all members of the Church of Scientology.

Yes, the same Scientology that seems to be the latest in celebrity fads and so laughed by those of us whom have more “conventional” backgrounds when it comes to religion. After me and the other pipe-hitters joked a bit, it became apparent that these young people were here to assist us and render aid to the suffering. We were asked by the hospital administrator to employ these volunteers in yellow; and like any good Special Forces troop, we found work for our newest grunts. Immediately we had theses young believers of a different power cleaning bed-pans, escorting patients between wards, stacking the endless ocean of relief surplus and simply doing some really tough work. With a smile on their faces and a warmth for the suffering, these young people executed each task in a manner all of us as Americans would be proud.

 

Day after day they entered the camp (0700 hrs), yellow shirts fading daily from the previous day’s work but they never stopped or even slowed. Never a mal-word, never questioning our request (ok, sometimes our requests sounded like orders being barked) but always doing whatever was required to assist the people of Haiti. My team and I had the opportunity to talk with many of the Scientologist volunteers. Of course there were a few jokes, (SF-types always like to pick-fun at folks different from us) and to be honest they could dish it out as well as they receive it; but what a group of people! Religious beliefs aside (Hell, I really have no clue on what they believe in; only what I have read or heard about through media channels) these guy and girls are OK by me. They lived the selfless service motto; never questioning, always doing for others. Day after demanding day.

We all have differing values, beliefs and ethos we live by. I may not understand the Scientology church (if it is even referred to as a church) but I can attest to the fact that theses volunteers in once bright and now fading yellow shirts are a credit to whatever affiliation they serve. Their higher power has directed these young people to serve, just as my team and thousands continue to do in this terrible environment. It was my pleasure to meet and serve alongside the volunteers for the Scientology Church. Different beliefs / All American!

With a generous [...]]]> The Greater Washington Haiti Relief Committee and Embassy of Haiti, with whom volunteers from the Churches of Scientology Disaster Response team have been working hand-in-hand, sent out the following press release commending the contributions of our volunteers and the many generous donations and helping hands lent by companies and organizations in the area:

With a generous donation from Eyre Bus, Tour & Travel, a group of 160 medical professionals and volunteers from the D.C. and New York areas is headed to Haiti this evening, the Embassy of Haiti and Greater Washington Haiti Relief Committee (GWHRC) announced today.  The transport of the group is dubbed Operation Night Train, and is scheduled to depart the Embassy around 11:30 p.m. tonight.

"On behalf of my father, Ron Eyre, president and owner, our entire family and staff of Eyre, I am extremely pleased and honored to be a part of this relief effort," said Matthew Eyre, vice president and owner.  "We hope that this small role we are playing tonight will help further this extraordinary mission.  Our thoughts and prayers are with all the people of Haiti and the thousands of volunteers that we have joined to provide relief."

The group, which volunteered to go to Haiti earlier this week to assist with the relief effort, is made up of approximately 80 doctors, 60 nurses, and 20 volunteers.  Approximately 10 volunteers will depart from the Embassy of Haiti and connect with the other volunteers in New York for their flight from JFK.  All the volunteers were coordinated by the GWHRC and the Church of Scientology.  The group will also transport medical supplies that have been donated to the Embassy over the past week. 

The Church of Scientology organized the charter flight out of New York to Haiti as a continuing effort to provide volunteer assistance to those affected by the earthquake on January 12, 2010.  They have also been offering daily assistance at the Embassy since the day after the earthquake.

  "The Volunteer Ministers from the Church of Scientology, as well as other volunteers and medical professionals, are gravely concerned about the conditions in Haiti and willing to do anything needed to assist in this time of terrible tragedy," said Sylvia Stanard, Director of Government Affairs for the Church of Scientology. "Volunteers are already there from two earlier flights out of Los Angeles and New York, but more are desperately needed, particularly medical professionals. We are working with the Embassy of Haiti and GWHRC to meet those needs."

Some of the volunteers will be deployed to a medical area near the airport and others will be at a hospital located near the Presidential Palace.  Volunteers will stay for up to a one-month rotation before returning to the United States.

The Greater Washington Haiti Relief Committee is continuing to organize events and volunteers to assist the massive relief effort currently underway in Haiti, including coordinating with the Embassy of Haiti to ship already donated supplies to the island.  GWHRC, with the assistance of the Embassy of Haiti, is expecting to send more medical professionals to Haitias soon as planes are available.

The Greater Washington Haiti Relief Committee is a coalition of local and international organizations developed with the support of the Haitian Embassy in Washington D.C. to streamline efforts during disaster relief. GWHRC was first convened in 2008 to respond to the series of Hurricanes that hit Haiti that year.

To find out how you can help this effort, contact us here.

Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive estimates the death toll from the earthquake, which destroyed most of the Capital City of Port-au-Prince, could reach 100,000. Lack of resources [...]]]> The Churches of Scientology Disaster Response Coordinator has put out a call for Volunteer Ministers to travel to Haiti, in response to the January 12, 2010, magnitude 7.0 earthquake.

Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive estimates the death toll from the earthquake, which destroyed most of the Capital City of Port-au-Prince, could reach 100,000. Lack of resources and decimated infrastructure in Haiti, the least-developed country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world according to the US State Department, is severely hampering the search and rescue operation and care for the survivors.

For information on how to join the Volunteer Ministers team in Haiti or to sponsor a volunteer to go contact the Volunteer Ministers Disaster Response Coordinator here, or call our disaster response hotline at 202-534-4805.

Volunteer Ministers are also being called to help give grief couseling and Assists to the local Greater Washington DC area Haitian community and to lend support and care to the Haitian community by participating in their local events including church services and candle light vigils.     The Volunteer Ministers coordinator stated that, “the Haitian people are a strong and resilient people, but we must stand with them in their time of great need. There is much sadness which needs to be overcome and by standing in solidarity and with a shoulder to shoulder effort we will over come the great barriers to healing their nation.”

Contact us to find out how you can help.