I was like a commander: John Travolta on leading Scientology aid mission to Haiti

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:11 PM on 03rd February 2010

John Travolta says he was ‘like a commander’ when he flew in aid to Haiti.

The 55-year-old star showed off pictures of his humanitarian trip to Haiti as he appeared on U.S. TV last night.

Travolta told Late Show host David Letterman how he and his church of Scientology gathered more than 7-tonnes of supplies and then flew them to Port-au-Prince in his Boeing 707.

‘I didn’t even know I had it in me to be honest – I was like a commander running around,’ Travolta said.

‘I didn’t know I had it in me’:  John Travolta told David Letterman about his humanitarian trip to Haiti.

‘I wanted to take him back’: John showed a picture of himself with an orphan he met on the trip.

Travolta, who’s teenage son Jet died after a seizure last year, showed a picture of himself with a small boy orphaned in the disaster who he took on a tour around his plane.

‘This little boy was found roaming into the volunteer minister’s group,’ he said.’He was wounded and he had lost his family, now he’s an orphan. He saw the plane come in and all he wanted to do was get on board and see what the plane was like. 

‘He came on board and I stuffed his pockets with cookies and bananas and treats.

‘He was 7. I wanted to take him back, he was a really sweet boy. But he’s being well taken care of in the orphanage right now, as are many people.’

Travolta said his was one of two planes organized with the help of the Church of Scientology to fly relief into the disaster-hit country.

To the rescue: Travolta, with his wife Kelly Preston, flew supplies into Haiti on his Boeing 707.

‘I sent two planes down,’ he said.

‘One I flew down and an earlier one that a friend called and said he was going in that direction and could I find supplies and people to put on it.

‘The first one was easy, I contacted my church and they had supplies and people to put on that.

‘The second one was a little more difficult because my people had to go shopping for goods and also contact all the hospitals in Florida to donate goods. They all ended up donating about seven-tonnes of goods.

‘The church contacted 22 doctors and we put them on the plane along with the supplies.’ 

Organized approach: A Scientologist at the reception of the general hospital in Port-au-Prince tries to help staff with patients and visitors last month. Once in Haiti, Travolta said he stayed with the supplies and guarded them.

He said: ‘I had to make sure those supplies stayed with the doctors because that was the operative idea and there was a lot of dropping off goods and disappearing goods. ‘I stuck around and made sure they were guarded so in the morning when the doctors woke up it was like a store and they could go shopping for surgical supplies, diapers for the orphans and milk, baby formula – whatever they needed to perform operations or feed the kids.

‘I got the word today that 90% of the supplies that went with those doctors actually were used and hundreds of lives were saved.

‘But there’s still a lot to be done, there’s a lot of nurses needed and backup. The important thing for people donating supplies is to make sure they go to the places they are needed.

‘Travolta is currently promoting his new film, From Paris with Love.

It follows Jonathan Rhys-Meyers’ James Reese, a low-ranking intelligence operative working in the office of the U.S. Ambassador in France.

His character is partnered with Travolta’s Charlie Wax, a high-ranking U.S. agent who’s been sent to Paris to stop a terrorist attack.

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