Oklahoma is famous as being located right in the center of Tornado Alley. With more than 50 tornadoes occurring on an annual basis, the state has one of the highest rates of tornadoes in the world. The month of May 2013, however, saw the state being hit especially hard, with four tornadoes causing massive damage along with severe thunderstorms. Two of the four were measured at EF5, and joined a list of only eight tornadoes to reach that level in Oklahoma since 1950. The EF5 designation is reserved for the largest possible tornadoes. One of these was measured at 2.6 miles from one side to the other at its maximum size, making it the widest tornado ever recorded. For perspective, consider that the island of Manhattan is only 2.3 miles across at its widest point. The wind speed in this storm maxed out at a terrifying rate of nearly 300 miles per hour. All told, these terrible storms claimed the lives of 34 people and injured many more. They additionally caused devastating physical destruction in terms of the communities that were destroyed. Even many of those who escaped the tornadoes without suffering any type of physical injury still were subjected to the emotional trauma of seeing their homes leveled and losing much or all of what they owned.
How Narconon Arrowhead Helped with the Oklahoma Tornadoes
The May tornadoes made national news headlines, and people from all over the United States were quick to respond by sending aid to Oklahoma by donating money to charities and disaster relief efforts. As much as these financial contributions were needed, however, the money only goes so far in helping those whose lives have been shattered by a natural disaster. At least as appreciated as the donations is the service provided by those who were able to put their own lives on hold to travel to the scene of the disaster in order to offer their help. This is exactly what was done by Niko Bain, a drug education specialist at the Narconon Arrowhead addiction treatment center in Oklahoma, chose to do. The staff at Narconon Arrowhead are always looking for ways to reach out into the community in order to provide their assistance, and the time that Niko spent at the relief center in Little Axe, OK is an example of this commitment to helping those in need.
Niko accompanied a team of Volunteer Ministers from the Church of Scientology, the group who can easily be identified at disaster scenes around the world by their bright yellow shirts and their willingness to assist with everything from organizing relief efforts, to getting their hands dirty with heavy lifting and cleaning projects, to performing “assists” that refresh people physically and spiritually. During his time in the Shawnee area, Niko took part in projects involving delivery of food and fresh waters to disaster victims, as well as distributing clothing and other needed supplies. He also worked with a chainsaw to remove several trees that had fallen across the lawn of a local homeowner. Further, he met with officials from the Absentee-Shawnee tribal police, arranging to return to the community in the future to provide drug education classes to the police, schools in the area and to the tribe generally. Not only will he be helping to salvage the community in terms of clearing away the physical devastation caused by the storms, but he will also be helping them to reduce and prevent the rates of drug abuse by providing them with invaluable information about the subject. Towards the end of Niko’s stay, the Governor of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe personally thanked Narconon for sending volunteers to the area and for helping out during the disaster.
Here is the article on disaster relief efforts through Narconon Arrowhead.