Donations from across the country and gratitude from around the world have been flooding in for the tireless work being done by a Sydney religious sister supporting the seafarers visiting our shores, The Catholic Weekly reports..
Known as the “angel of the waterfront”, Sister Mary Leahy RSJ has spent the past 20 years helping those who earn a living on the seas and said she has never seen conditions so desperate.
Sr Mary Leahy RSJ handling some of the donations received in her appeal for seafarers. PHOTO: Alphonsus Fok/The Catholic Weekly.
Trapped on what has been described as “floating prisons”, many of the world’s 1.6 million seafarers already at sea for up to nine months have no real sign of when they will be able to return home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sr Mary issued an urgent appeal for personal hygiene products including shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, deodorant and razors, as well as knitted beanies and chocolates to put together care packages for the sailors, and admits to being overwhelmed by the huge response.
However, it’s the messages of gratitude from the exhausted seafarers globally that has made her even more committed to providing not only practical but spiritual support at this time of great need.
“I’ve been contacted by people around the country wanting to donate items for the seafarers as well as receiving messages of thanks from the seafarers themselves. I had messages from India, China, Myanmar, The Philippines, Africa, Poland, the Ukraine, Malaysia and Indonesia, thanking me for what I am doing,” she said.
“I have received gifts and monetary donations from people near and far, from NSW and interstate, from maritime workers and private individuals.
“I hope the appeal not only raises donations but also awareness of the seafarers who transport 98 per cent of goods to our shores and whose lives are lived out in danger of piracy, abuse, cruel working conditions with very low wages and always in isolation from loved ones.”
This is an abridged version of an article by Debbie Cramsie, published in The Catholic Weekly. See the full story here.