As reported in The Hindu, "A fortnight long exhibition on Scientology got underway on Mahatma Gandhi maidan [town square] here on Monday. It was inaugurated by Udhagamandalam Municipal Council Chairman R. Rajendran."
 | The Scientology Volunteer Ministers India Goodwill Tour in Udhagamandalam (Ooty), in Tamil Nadu, India. |
The article was referring to the big yellow tent of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers India Goodwill Tour, which has just arrived in the town of Udhagamandalam. Also known as Ootacamund or Ooty, the city is nearly a mile and a half above sea level, in the northeastern corner of the state of Tamil Nadu, India.
For over three years, the Scientology Volunteer Ministers India Goodwill Tour has been traveling throughout the subcontinent, providing courses, training seminars and workshops in technology developed by Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard, to public officials, community leaders, police, teachers, medical professionals and people of all walks of life.
 | Students at the St. Josephs workshop learned the basics of study technology. Developed by L. Ron Hubbard to train professional Scientologists, the techniques increase comprehension, speed of learning and ability to apply any subject. |
Ooty's nickname, "Queen of Hill Stations", comes out of a lesson in 19th Century history. A hill station is a resort built at the top of a hill or plateau, where British colonials would seek respite from the brutal heat of the Indian summer.
Although the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tour is new to Tamil Nadu, having spent most of its time in larger cities such as Mumbai and Kolkata, Scientology Volunteer Ministers have been working to help the people of Tamil Nadu ever since the December 2004 tsunami left major sections in the southwestern part of the state completely devastated.
In the 1970's Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard, concerned about spiraling crime and immorality in the West, created the Scientology Volunteer Ministers program. He sought to counter the underlying causes of these downward trends by providing tools anyone can learn and use to deal with the problems they encounter in life, and promote ethical and spiritual values.
 | The Scientology Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tour also provides training and seminars to groups and institutions. Here is a workshop for students at the St Joseph's Higher Secondary School in Ooty. |
From the inception of the program, Scientology Volunteer Ministers have used this technology, not only to improve their own lives and help their friends and immediate families, but also to reach out to those in need, particularly in times of disaster.
Visitors to the big yellow tent can, and usually do, take free courses in subjects such as improving relationships, communication and overcoming the ups and downs in life. The courses, based on the Scientology Handbook, are very practical, and Scientology Volunteer Ministers are on hand to make sure students understand and know how to apply what they learn.
 | A woman takes advantage of one of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers courses provided at the tent. The courses are based on the Scientology Handbook. |
The Scientology Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tour also provides training and seminars to groups and institutions. At one recent seminar in Ooty, at the St Joseph's Higher Secondary School, students learned the basics of study technology. Although study technology was originally developed by L. Ron Hubbard to train professional Scientologists, the techniques are universal. "They apply just as well to learning computer skills or a foreign language as they do to studying Scientology techniques," said Ms. Marion Whitta, leader of the India Goodwill tour. "It was nice to be featured in the news," said Ms. Whitta "but that's not how we measure our success. What matters to us is the lives we better."
 | The Scientology Volunteer Ministers measure their success by the lives they better. |
In addition to the work Scientology Volunteer Ministers do in real life, the program also offers free online courses to anyone wanting to cope with some troublesome problem or generally improve his or her life. For more information visit the Scientology Volunteer Ministers web site at http://www.volunteerministers.org/train.
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