Scientology Volunteers in the Kingdom of Tonga

PR Log (Press Release) – Jun 12, 2009 – The Scientology Volunteer Ministers have travelled from nation to nation with their Goodwill Tour. Now they headed to the South Pacific to the beautiful Kingdom of Tonga.
The Goodwill Tour began their visit to Tonga on the island of Tongatapu, where they found that drug and alcohol abuse were a major concern of the local officials and community leaders.  They provided drug-education lectures, using information in the Scientology Handbook which is based on the research of Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard. These booklets educate and enlighten readers so as to bring about greater spiritual awareness which could then bring about relief to pain, medical difficulties, problems at work and more.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers South Pacific Goodwill Tour is continuing work in the Kingdom of Tonga by celebrating the grand opening on the island of Vava’u. Tonga is an archipelago of 169 islands one-third of the way between New Zealand and Hawaii.

Local performers welcomed the Scientology Volunteer Ministers with a prayer and songs and the chief magistrate of the island, on behalf of the people of Vava’u, thanked the Scientology Volunteer Ministers for coming to their island.

A dancer performed the ‘Tulou kihe niu vakai’—a traditional greeting for honored guests and friends—before cutting the ribbon in front of the big yellow tent where the volunteers will provide courses, seminars and one-on-one help.

Having opened the tent in the capital city of Vava’u, the Scientology Volunteer Ministers are offering their services on a grassroots level by visiting the local villages.  The first place they went to was Talihau, a fitting first stop as its name means “to welcome the Chief,” coming from the days when any boat arriving from other islands would land and be welcomed by this village first.

Tonga is the third South Pacific nation of this goodwill tour, which began in Fiji and moved next to Samoa. On completing their work in Tonga, the Scientology Volunteer Ministers will move on to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

For more information about the Scientology Volunteer Ministers visit the Volunteer Minister Website.