A ground-level view of Peru, recovering from catastrophic mudslides

“It looked like Noah’s Ark,” says Scientologist Eric Anderson, describing the Pan American Highway between the northern Peru cities of Chiclayo and Piura at the height of the recent floods.

Miles from the coast, the two-lane highway, usually flanked by vast stretches of barren desert landscape, looked like a causeway, completely surrounded by water that washed over the highway.

Anderson, a Scientology Volunteer Minister (VM), took time off from his work as a professor of English at the National University of San Marcos in Lima to respond to the floods.

He has been visiting camps where people who lost their homes are living in tents, giving them assists—techniques developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard that address the emotional and spiritual factors in stress and trauma.

He also introduced assists to a team of Brazilian firefighters, in the country to help in the search and rescue operation.

He began by giving assists to the firemen and then trained them to use the techniques in their own work.

Anderson, who was also part of the Scientology Disaster Response Team when an 8.0 magnitude earthquake hit Pisco, Peru, in 2007, forwards the social media campaign #unasolafuerza—“a single force.”  Around the world, people are raising funds for the country under that hashtag, led by the Rolling Stones who adopted the campaign.

The global network of Scientology Volunteer Ministers mobilizes in times of man-made and natural disasters, answering the call wherever and whenever needed. Collaborating with some 1,000 organizations and agencies, VMs have utilized their skill and experience in providing physical support and spiritual aid at hundreds of disaster sites.

The motto of the Scientology Volunteer Minister is “Something can be done about it.” The program, created in the mid 1970s by L. Ron Hubbard and sponsored by the Church of Scientology International as a religious social service, constitutes one of the world’s largest international independent relief forces.