The Mission to Seafarers has launched a new welfare support project for families in the seafaring heartland of Manila in the Philippines. The number of seafarers that come from the Far East is thought to be around 37 percent of all ratings and the Mission estimates that up to a million seafarers are registered in the state of the Philippines alone.
The Revd Canon Stephen Miller, Director of East Asia, The Mission to Seafarers, was the main driver of this project and was instrumental in the design and development of the new service which will be provided in partnership with the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (The Independent Church in the Philippines or IFI).
The new network will focus on improving support for seafarers’ families over a range of services including counseling, advocacy, medical advice, IT support and financial guidance. The service launched late in April with the appointment of two full-time staff in post, Edna Velasco a senior social worker and May Jose who will support with office administration – both of whom have family connections with seafaring. The IFI will provide local volunteer support from parishes locally. One key project that is being considered alongside this broader work, is the possibility of setting up a local church-led credit union for seafarers. This would work on community cooperative principles and where one of the primary aims would be to assist and encourage seafaring families to save for the future.
Revd Miller said, “This is a very exciting development for The Mission to Seafarers, and we have now opened a facility in Manila which is the central location for the main seafaring and crewing agencies for the world’s merchant fleet. Although these are very early days, the project has been designed to achieve deliverable outcomes in the short and medium term with the possibility of expanding it through the northern and southern areas of the Philippines.
“We have partnered with our friends in the local IFI church to ensure that we can provide real outreach support which will have positive outcomes for families. Life at sea continues to be a real challenge, especially for ratings on low pay and long contracts away from their loved ones. By providing a Mission in the Philippines alongside our close ecumenical colleagues the IFI, it will encourage and hearten many seafarers to know that there is now a dedicated network to support their families back where they call home.
“The model we have used is that of the Citizen Advice Bureau familiar to many, particularly in the UK. The CAB cover work issues, debt management, relationship breakdown, law and rights disputes, as well as signposting education. We plan to monitor closely the enquiries we have coming in, and hope to develop this service over the next year as the need arises.”
The IFI and The Mission to Seafarers held an inaugural service to celebrate the new partnership and service at the National Cathedral in Manila on May 1.
(Photo: Second from right Edna Velasco, Program Coordinator. Second from left May Jose, Programme Staff. Families and seafarers in light blue are members of the coordinating committee, with Bishop Bart Espartero, our Liaison Bishop in centre. The picture was taken on May 1 at the inaugurating event of IFI-MTS Family Network, it was held at the National Cathedral Conference Centre, Erimita, Manila, Philippines.)
