SCFS

A Baseball Cap, A Tee-shirt, Trousers and Trainers!

It was a very cold January day, I saw a Filipino seafarer walking along the harbour. He was only wearing a baseball cap, a tee-shirt, trousers and trainers. He looked lost. I saw him talk to some of the contractors working at the harbour and they shook their heads in a negative way. I thought he may have been looking for the mission, so I caught up with him and introduced myself. I was correct – he was looking for the mission. He told me that his name was Ricky and that he had no coat. I took him to the mission where he was able to telephone home. I then went to the office and got together some bags of clothes and toiletries for him and the rest of the crew. I then drove Ricky back to his ship. I was very warmly greeted and it was a joy to see the delight on the crew's faces with all the bags that Ricky and I carried on board.

I returned to the ship the following day with more supplies as there was not enough to go round on the first visit. This time I was told a very heart rending story. The crew had been 20 days at sea coming to Belfast. Before that they were 10 days in Brazil loading and they had had no shore leave. But before that, they had been a full month at anchor before entering Brazil for the cargo. After explaining this to me the 2nd officer, who was Filipino, also explained that for three months they had not been paid and that none of the crew had soap, toothpaste, shower gel etc, and that they were so grateful for my coming to them. One crew member said "I was sent from heaven."

What's In the News?

Wilbert and I really look forward to visiting the crew from the Cape Verde Islands as their ship visits Belfast. During one visit, I asked the crew if there was any way that we could improve our visits to them. Many felt that what was important was the fact that we visited them as often as we could. The cook also confirmed that he personally had been on contracts for 9 months and had not been on shore or seen a seafarer's Chaplain/Pastor in all that time.

Yet one thing they all agreed on that would benefit all the Cape Verde crew, was if I could print off articles from a Cape Verde newspaper on the internet, and take these to the crew when I visit. I was able to do this. Now as a regular feature of my visit, I take them the latest articles from the web site. It is wonderful to see them smiling as they read the articles and talk about them. This is a very easy way to help them keep informed about what is happening back at home.