Freewinds Volunteer Ministers Team Up with the Red Cross to Bring Vital Relief Supplies to Those in Need
Bringing much-needed relief materials the Volunteer Ministers from the Freewinds, along with volunteers from St. Vincent and the Grenadines Red Cross, travelled to the Chateaubelair area earlier this week.
This group of dedicated volunteers distributed among other items much needed bottled water, blankets, and hygiene kits. These were the first relief supplies to reach this area since the eruption of the La Soufriere Volcano.
A few days prior to the distribution a request was made of the Volunteer Ministers by the Red Cross to travel to this hazardous region to do assessments in order to gather information on the current scene. This request was made based on the fact that the team of Volunteer Ministers on St. Vincent are experienced disaster relief specialists, having done similar work at a number of disasters.
Armed with the information that was obtained from these visits a workout was done as to which materials and what quantities should be taken to the site. In preparation for distribution of relief materials, the volunteers loaded supplies onto vehicles at the Red Cross headquarters.
The joint volunteer effort passed out six pallets of water, 300 hygiene kits, over 100 blankets, 600 masks and some tool kits (including shovels, hammers, crow bars, and more). This was a combination of supplies donated by the Freewinds cruise ship and the Red Cross. Additionally the Freewinds volunteers immediately moved into actions when asked to clean up the main drainage ditch running down the main street in the most populated part of town. This took a few hours of digging as the ditch had been completely backed up by the ash and then the muck created by the rains.
Mr. Bernard Morgan, Director General of the Red Cross commented: “The input of the Volunteer Ministers has been invaluable. They went into two different areas to do assessments to find out what was needed. Therefore, when we went into these areas we were already quite well informed. We knew what the problems were and what the people wanted. In many cases the Volunteer Ministers went right to the doors of the people to give them what they needed as the prior visit gave them knowledge. Very professional. It is a real pleasure to work with them.”
A Volunteer Minister’s mandate is to be “a person who helps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by restoring purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others.” To learn more about the Scientology Volunteer Ministers visit www.volunteerministers.org.
