Seafarers’ Mental Health Take Center Stage at SM

Over 25% of the world’s seafarers show signs of depression, according to the International Maritime Charity Sailor’s Society. Stress, harassment, bullying, fatigue, loneliness, and isolation from family can easily impact their mental health, which makes seafaring the second-most at risk profession worldwide when it comes to suicide.

To shine light on the issue, Gregorio Oca Leadership & Development (GOLD) Foundation, in partnership with SM Global Pinoy, the Associated Marine Officers and Seamen’s Union of the Philippines (AMOSUP), and International Seafarers Welfare & Assistance Network (ISWAN), held the “Kumusta, Kabaro?” Day at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall in Pasay City.

“Kumusta, Kabaro?” is a comprehensive mental health program launched by GOLD Foundation to raise awareness of the maritime community and the general public about the struggles seafarers face during their repeated departures from home. With the theme “The Seafarer Community for Global Mental Wellness,” the project aims to deliver hope and to promote mental wellness among Filipino Seafarers. The event was also held in celebration of World Mental Health Day and was attended by over 500 members from the maritime industry and their families.

“Ang issue ng mental health ay kailangan nating pag-tuunan. Hindi na ‘to isang bagay na kailangan natin i-deny,” (The issue on mental health needs attention and we can no longer ignore this) said Marissa Oca, chair of the Gregorio Oca Leadership & Development (GOLD) Foundation.

Atty. Noli Partido, AMOSUP Legal Department head, also pointed out that the issue on mental health is something we need to look at closely. “We need to act on the issue and come up with preventive and relevant steps to take care of our seafarers’ mental health,” Partido said.

The event consisted of various talks and inspirational messages from different maritime groups, the Department of Health (DOH), and the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Psychotrauma Clinic. It also included Zumba exercises and other wellness activities.

“SM believes that the seafarers’ mental health is a serious concern that we need to focus on. We fully support the maritime industry’s advocacy in raising awareness about the issue,” said SM Global Pinoy program director Glenn Ang.

SM Global Pinoy is the program of SM Prime Holdings that supports the welfare of Overseas Filipino Workers and their families. It aims to give back and honor OFWs and their families through exclusive services, perks and privileges in its 31 SM Global Pinoy Centers nationwide.

To know more about SM Global Pinoy, you may visit www.smglobalpinoy.com or www.facebook.com/smgpc. You may also e-mail info@smglobalpinoy.com.

#OneForMarino Campaign

IEF, Inc, brings to life a campaign created to resolve a silent yet rampant problem of the Filipino seafarers, coined by the company as Business Gambling.

Kristine Marcelo, a CPA and the CEO of IEF, Inc, along with her agile team, dedicated their career into doing an in depth research to find out the probable cause of the recurring financial rat-race-problem among the seafarers.  Seafarers are champions of the Philippine economy and it’s contradicting that they end up attaining poor financial status upon their retirement.

After months of rigid immersion, focus group discussions, research and interview, IEF, Inc. finally found one factor and the team eventually termed it as Business Gambling.  After noting the matter, IEF, Inc. immediately and carefully designed a potent campaign to help provide a societal solution against it, hence, #OneForMarino was brought to life.

#OneForMarino clearly defines business gambling as the seafarers’ impulsive and repetitive decision to invest in various businesses with minimum to completely insufficient knowledge and purely depending on chance or probability for return.

The campaign was named #OneForMarino, as this is a mission to collaborate with multiple organizations and sectors to create one strength for social good.  IEF, Inc, believes that the success of the campaign will be greatly influenced by the support of other organizations, especially those from the Maritime industry.

The campaign will run from August 2018 to May 2019, with official Maritime launching to happen on July 27-28, 2019. The intention of this campaign is to saturate media platforms to reach out to as many seafarers and make them aware of the dangers, risks and solutions of business gambling.

The highlight of this campaign is to bring the FIRST EVER EXHIBIT + CONFERENCE to run 32 times during the campaign duration, aiming to reach over 15,000 participants.  This Exhibit + Conference is expected to be interactive, fun and highly igniting.

The Exhibit + Conference will be held at Bayview Park Hotel Manila.  Tickets will be available on partnering Maritime agencies to be posted and continuously updated on the company’s facebook page and website (facebook@OneForMarino and www.ief.ph)

Do you want to be a part of this campaign? For sponsorship or booth reservation, you may contact PMCM EVENTS MANAGEMENT (Official Marketing Partner) at 0917 8344978 or send an email through pmcm.events@gmail.com and look for Ms. Mys Sandico. You may also contact our office at (632) 689 7100 loc. 8183 or email us at info@ief.ph and look for #OneForMarino.