Brit chaplain learning Filipino to save seafarers

A British chaplain from the Apostleship of the Sea is learning Filipino and other languages in aid of his mission to help passing seafarers from around the world, ABS-CBN News reports
Reverend Roger Stone, who runs a Catholic ministry at the port of Southampton among others, offers support and assistance to seafarers passing through England on cargo vessels and cruise ships.
"Because the seafarers are away from home for so long, and it's very difficult for them to get off the ships, then we go onto the ships to welcome them and see if we can help them with practical and spiritual support," said Rev. Stone.
According to the Maritime Labor Convention of the International Labor Organization (ILO), more than 1.2 million people work as seafarers around the world, delivering an estimated 90% of international trade in food, fuel, clothing, automotive and other industries.
The Philippines provide the majority of seafarers, with an estimated 400,000 Filipino mariners working in vessels across the world, based on statistics from the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency.
"I meet a lot of Filipinos, araw-araw, a lot of kababayan who come into Southampton. I must say that it's a source of great joy meeting people from the Philippines because they're nearly always people of such faith. People of warmth and generosity," Rev. Stone observed.
With one in three seafarers coming from the Philippines, it's no wonder the chaplain, who was born in Wales and raised in England, is learning the national language, Filipino.
Source: ABS-CBN News