The bright yellow van of the Volunteer Ministers from the Church of Scientology Budapest was once more filled to the brim with supplies. This time, the Volunteer Ministers headed east to the town of Csökmő where the mayor and the president of the local Roma association worked with the volunteers to distribute food and cleaning supplies to those in need.

In September, with an increase in COVID-19 in the country, Hungary closed its borders to visitors, but the number of cases of the virus continues to surge. When a coronavirus case was diagnosed in the town of Csökmő, residents became frightened about its possible spread. Nearly a fifth of the town lives below the poverty line. They lack adequate food and the resources to procure basic hygiene products. 

With donations from Scientologists and supplies from the Red Cross, Volunteer Ministers brought a ton of hand sanitizer, cleaning products and food for all 653 at-risk residents to ensure they get through this challenging time safe and well.

In addition to providing food and supplies, Volunteer Ministers ensure communities know how to protect themselves from the virus. As soon as the pandemic began, the most effective measures were researched for ensuring the safety of Scientology staff and parishioners, and these were implemented internationally as protocols under the direction of Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige.

To make this prevention information broadly available, the Church of Scientology created more than a dozen videos and three educational booklets: How to Keep Yourself & Others Well, How to Protect Yourself & Others with a Mask & Gloves and How to Prevent the Spread of Illness with Isolation. These are all available in Hungarian and 20 additional languages on the How to Stay Well Prevention Resource Center on the Scientology website.

The Scientology Volunteers of Hungary are headquartered at the Church of Scientology Budapest, whose new home was dedicated in 2016 by Mr. Miscavige. The Church of Scientology Volunteer Ministers program is a religious social service created in the mid-1970s by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard.