Speaker Meeting, 6.15 for 6.30pm

The Sailor's Society is the oldest of the Maritime charities caring for the welfare of Merchant Seafarers.  It's an international charity working across the world to offer welfare and practical support to seafarers, their families and their communities. With over 90% of our goods arriving by sea, it offers support to this often forgotten workforce. Sailors can face loneliness, piracy, abandonment, imprisonment and are often away from their families for an average of 9 months each year.

Yvonne said:  "Your phone, your computer, your cup of coffee: 90% of everything you use comes by sea, transported by an often invisible workforce of 1.6 million seafarers.  Without them we would miss most of the things we rely on every day. But to bring these things to us, seafarers in turn miss many of the things we take for granted.  They leave their homes and loved ones to go to sea for up to a year at a time, facing extreme loneliness, violent storms end even piracy.  They miss births, funerals, Christmases - seeing their families grow up.  Many of these men and women come from the world’s poorest communities, with limited career options.  The Sailors' Society works in 27 countries around the world, providing a lifeline for seafarers and their families in need through chaplaincy, education and the relief of poverty and distress."

Sailor's Society Website