Scientology Volunteer Ministers Disaster Relief Team in Australia

A category 5 cyclone with winds up to 290 kilometers per hour (180 miles per hour), Cyclone Larry made landfall in northern Queensland, Australia, leaving an estimated 140,000 homes and businesses without electricity. Grateful that there were no reported deaths from the storm, Australians nevertheless realized the gravity of the effects of the worst cyclone in the country’s history, which cost the region nearly its entire banana and sugar cane crop and caused some half billion dollars of damage.

“We have issued a call for Volunteer Ministers to come help,” said Virginia Stewart, Public Affairs Director for the Church in Australia, “and we will train anyone of any faith who wishes to join us in this work.”

The skill and commitment of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers of Australia was put to the test a little over a year ago, when the tsunamis of 26 December 2004 devastated Indonesia and other areas in South East Asia. Now Volunteer Ministers have headed up the coast to help fellow Australians recover from the damage they sustained from this storm, and welcome the help of anyone who wants to support this activity or join them.

To join the Volunteer Ministers Disaster Relief Team persons in Australia or New Zealand should contact the Volunteer Minister Coordinator of the Church of Scientology Brisbane at 61-7 3257 4055 brisbane@scientology.net, or call the Volunteer Ministers Hotline Australia 61-2 9264 7955. Persons outside Australia or New Zealand should email the International Volunteer Ministers Coordinator at vm@volunteerministers.org.