Adopt-A-Ship is a unique and fantastic learning and awareness initiative aimed at educating children about seafaring, ships, and world geography that our Manila office is excited to now be a part of, being the first to ‘adopt’ the programme in Anglo-Eastern.
Adopt-A-Ship was launched in 2006 by the Cyprus Shipping Chamber (CSC) and Cyprus Marine Environmental Protection Association (CYMEPA) to connect elementary school students with seafarers on board CSC-member ships as a way to educate, inspire, and give back to the community.
Over a decade later, the initiative has expanded to include students and seafarers from Greece, Poland, India, and the Philippines, with over 35,000 children from different parts of the world involved in ‘adopting’ a ship.
The programme has been lauded by the United Nations Working Group, IMO, and many other leading maritime organisations and government bodies. CEO Bjorn Hojgaard had heard much about Adopt-A-Ship and thought it a great initiative, so proposed the idea to several business heads. Neeraj Dhingra, head of our Philippines unit, immediately liked the concept and took the lead, assigning QA and welfare manager Milea Kim Cabuhat to learn more about the programme and who to partner with.
A few months later, our Manila office inaugurated the Adopt-A-Ship programme, having secured the participation of Laguna Resettlement Community School (LRCS), with its 1,180 Grade 4-6 students, and three bulk carriers and an ocean-going tug along with their masters: MV Cape Azalea (Capt. Adrian Consebido), MV CL Century (Capt. Philip Fernandez), MV True Caspian (Capt. Eugene Luna), and MV BOKA Alpine (Capt. Japheth Rivera), respectively.
From January, each of the four vessels will be ‘adopted’ by different groups of assigned LRCS students, who will initially be required to identify landmasses and bodies of water on a world map provided by Adopt-A-Ship, in addition to responding to various statements to assess their maritime awareness.
Throughout the adoption period, the ship master or another senior officer will email the students via their teachers on a weekly basis, sharing information about their voyage and answering any questions the students may have. Where possible, video calls can be arranged to allow direct interaction between the ship and classroom, and even in-person visits with the senior officers when ashore.
At the end of the adoption period, the students will once again be assessed in the same manner as at the start. The purpose is to see how much they have learnt through their interactions, which are aimed at not only imparting geographical and maritime knowledge, but also creating awareness and an appreciation of ships and seafaring that may inspire students to join the profession.
“Our goal is to establish a long-lasting presence in the Adopt-A-Ship programme,” said Ms Cabuhat, who noted that other Anglo-Eastern offices may join the programme following Manila’s lead. “By joining forces, we can make a positive impact in the lives of these students, and together we can create lasting memories and meaningful experiences.”