Scientology Volunteer Ministers African Goodwill Tour Arrives in Togo

Nov. 17, 2008 - PRLog -- Less than 40 years since Togo gained its independence from France, the people of the nation face difficult challenges. The motto of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers, "Something CAN Be Done About It" is a welcome one in a country where only five percent of the population has access to telephones, less than half of Togolese girls and women are literate, and children are often subjected to harsh conditions, child labor and slavery.

The first Volunteer Ministers African Goodwill Tour was launched in June 2005. For three years the Tour has been bringing help to communities throughout Southern Africa. This was so successful that in October 2006, a second African Goodwill Tour was announced—this one to travel through West Africa.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers have often been in the news for their work in disasters such as the World Trade Center attack, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. But that is only a small part of their work. Scientology churches and missions sponsor Volunteer Ministers programs, which provide help in their communities, and Goodwill Tours bring this help to towns, cities and remote villages throughout the world.

Tours, like the one now in Togo, provide free training, workshops and seminars in basic Scientology principles as contained in the Scientology Handbook. In each location they visit they train local residents in these techniques and establish groups that continue to provide help to their communities after the Goodwill Tour moves on. This is in keeping with the basic philosophy of the program as expressed by Scientology Founder, L. Ron Hubbard when he wrote: "If one is going to find fault with something, it implies that he wishes to do something about it and would if he could. 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."

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The Church of Scientology International (CSI) is the mother church of the Scientology religion worldwide. CSI is located in Los Angeles, USA.