Lent Appeal

Rajan’s story

It’s been more than 10 years since Rajan heard from his brother Pieo. Pieo was working on a cargo vessel that was reported missing off the coast of Turkey in February 2008. The family still don’t know what happened to his ship or the crew on it.

This Lent, we need your help to support families like Rajan’s.

According to the International Transport Federation 2,000 seafarers go missing at sea each year. Most incidents aren’t widely reported in the mainstream media, and few people seem to notice or even care about the loss of these precious lives. But for their families, the torment can last a lifetime.

Pieo’s parents never had the chance to give their son a proper funeral; they never got to say good bye or to tell him how much they loved him. They are now elderly and a decade of waiting has left them physically and mentally frail.

Their situation is complicated further by the fact that Rajan is also a seafarer and currently serving in Saudi Arabia. When his mother was recently taken into hospital in southern India, Rajan didn’t know where to turn for help.

Thankfully, because of your generous donations and past support, Rajan could turn to us

 

The Mission to Seafarers’ chaplain in Tuticorin, the Revd. Franklin, made contact with the family immediately. He saw the strain they were under and through our Seafarer’s Family Project arranged for a local doctor to provide both practical and psychological support.

Beyond that, he’s started work with ISWAN’s Regional Director in South Asia to investigate the disappearance of Pieo’s ship. With their help we hope to determine whether the family are entitled to additional compensation or if another investigation needs to take place.

The case is both complex and sensitive but, thanks to your generosity, our global team is well-equipped to respond.

Seafarers across the world rely on the Mission and we rely on you.

Every penny you donate ensures that we can work with a range of experts from lawyers and doctors, to counsellors and government officials through 200 ports across the world.

Please remember seafarers, like Rajan and his family this Lent. They may never get the closure they are looking for, but with your help they can receive both practical support and God’s comfort that they so desperately need.

Thank you so much for partnering with us on this vital work.

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Did you know that 2,000 seafarers go missing at sea each year? For this year's Lent we focus on the impact on families when seafarers get lost at sea

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