2008-06-18 23:55:35 - In India, where 135 million children do not attend school, twenty-five percent of the population lives below the poverty line and roughly 1.2 million children under age 15 have lost one or both parents, a group of Scientology Volunteer Ministers are determined to make a difference. They are using study tech to give homeless children the opportunity to succeed.

The Sealdah Railway Station in the city of Kolkata, India, where some 2 1/2 million people board a train each day, is "home" to many of Kolkata's homeless orphans. Every morning a group of Scientology volunteers start their day by operating a free school on platform 14, where the breakfast they provide is probably the only meal these children will

have all day.



Kolkata native, Mohamed Khalilullah, is passionate about helping children through education , and when he learned about theScientology Volunteer Ministers program two years ago and the breakthroughs Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard made in the field of study, it totally changed his focus and direction.



"I was always involved in educating the children of India," Khalilullah said, "but when I was introduced to the study technology of L. Ron Hubbard, I then had tools that helped the kids to better retain their education, tools that assisted the children who were slow in their study, and tools that gave educators a technology to teach students how to learn. This technology provides an understanding of the basics of learning and supplies exact ways to overcome the pitfalls one can encounter during study."



This is one of three free schools the Scientology volunteers run in Kolkata, the others being located at 8 B Gouripara Road and 6 Convent Road. Staffed entirely by volunteers and funded by donations, these schools provide study tech and basic education, to make it possible for orphaned children to make their way out of the Kolkata slums.



The volunteers also run a women's empowerment project, where they use study tech as part of free vocational training to help women gain skills they need to support themselves and become independent.



"I agree with what L. Ron Hubbard wrote on the subject of education: 'The end and goal of any society, as it addresses the problem of education, is to raise the ability, the initiative and the cultural level, and with all of that the survival level, of that society" said Mr. Khalilullah. "This is my dream for my homeland, India."