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 the Scientology 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."

In India, 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.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers run three free schools in the slums of Kolkata, where they use study tech developed by Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard, to give youngsters the tools they need to make it out of the slums.

The volunteers were acknowledged for the help they are giving the people of Cebu.

A long narrow island 225 km (140 mi) long, and surrounded by 167 neighboring smaller islands, Cebu is not only a center of trade, education and industry, it is also the oldest city in the Philippines.

Led by Taiwanese Scientologist Lu-Ying Yu and Filipina Scientology Minister, Rebecca Vinaviles, the Goodwill Tour has been conducting free life-improvement seminars throughout the city.

The Police Regional Office in Central Visayas in Cebu in the Philippines teamed up with the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Southeast Asian Goodwill Tour last month to launch a program to help the residents of the island cope with the problems they face in life and deal with disaster.

One example of the work they are doing is the training they gave to local policemen. With their responsibility to keep the peace and maintain order police have to confront some of the most dangerous and abhorrent elements of society. It is also the police who are usually the first to respond in times of disaster and emergency. With this kind of stress, police burnout is a common problem in cities all over the world.

The Volunteer Ministers addressed this with a series of seminars to 41 Cebu police, to help the officers tackle those factors they find most difficult in their jobs. As police are frequently faced with violence from unresolved and mounting friction among individuals or groups, the first seminar was "How to Resolve Conflicts," based on the Scientology Handbook , the text of which is taken from the writings of Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard.

Because they often have to deal with people who are belligerent, confused or overwhelmed, establishing communication with victims and suspects alike is a skill police urgently need to have. So, the next workshop covered the basic elements of communication, with examples taken from real-life situations to help the policemen apply this technology to the situations they confront on a daily basis.

The following day, the tour held a completely different kind of workshop to parents in a rough Cebu neighborhood who are concerned about their children and how to make sure they steer clear of crime and drugs.

Members of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Southeast Asia Goodwill Tour with new friends they made in Cebu in the Philippines.

While delivering seminars and workshops, the volunteers also provided one-on-one help to anyone who came to the bright yellow tent they pitched in prominent locations around the city.

In cities all over the world, people are faced with problems for which they have no effective solutions. In establishing the Volunteer Ministers program 30 years ago, L. Ron Hubbard 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." The Scientology Volunteer Ministers Southeast Asian Goodwill Tour are providing the people of the Philippines with the knowledge they need to change those things they don't agree with, and create a better life for themselves, their families and their communities.

The Zelyn Academy in Kibera, Kenya provides basic education and two meals a day to 106 kids.

The teacher, Elisha Ooga, wrote in to inquire about the free online course the Volunteer Ministers offer. But on learning of the school and the selfless work of these educators, the Scientology Volunteer Ministers contacted the director of the Church of Scientology Mission of Nairobi to get help in providing training not just to the teachers but to the children of the school as well.

The Zelyn Academy is right in the heart of the Kibera slum, in an area known as Silanga, the most notorious neighborhood and the one hardest hit by this year's post-election violence.

Esther Macharia, the Director of the Church of Scientology Mission of Nairobi, and some of her staff went to the school to deliver a seminar and described it in these terms:

"There are no roads in this part of the slum. To get to the school we had to leave our car and walk for about a kilometer through areas of incredible poverty. The conditions in which these people live is a very gross violation of basic human rights.

"The school goes up to grade three and there are 106 kids. The day we went there were 96 children there. One of the reasons the kids come to school at all is that they are fed—at least breakfast and lunch each day—and its very commendable for Elisha and her team that they arrange this.

The Church of Scientology Mission of Nairobi teamed up with the Scientology Volunteer Ministers program to provide a seminar for the school.

"The first thing I did with the children was a Locational Processing Assist:

"L. Ron Hubbard developed numerous applications of his discoveries for the mental and spiritual aspects of a person's physical difficulties. And as more and more techniques evolved, a new body of technology came into use, called 'Assists.'"

"One of the easiest assists to render is Locational Processing. A Locational is done by directing a person's attention off the painful area of his body or his difficulties and out onto the environment."

"Then, using a mixture of English, Swahili and the local language so everyone could understand, I told them about study tech—technology developed by L. Ron Hubbard based on research into what prevents a person from being able to learn any subject. The teachers were very enthusiastic about what they learned."

Afterwards Elisha Ooga and Zacheus Ogutu, two of the teachers, wrote in to thank the Scientology Volunteer Ministers saying:

"Thanks for your acknowledgement for the work we are doing within the slums of Kibera.

"I believe you understand what it takes to have pretty, healthy children in a school. The feeding program in the school is just another blessing for them though very, very expensive especially at this time when the food prices have gone so high.

"Thanks for the Scientology team for the recent children's seminar. The teachers and committee members were happy too. Looking forward to working together with you for the good of tomorrow's civilization--the children.

The children and teachers were very enthusiastic with what they learned at the seminar.

For more information on how to support the Zelyn Academy, contact the Volunteer Ministers Consultant at vm@volunteerministers.org.