Each time Sabo Bulajic steps onto dry land is a cause for celebration.
“It is feeling really nice,” Bulajic, from Montenegro, said. “Then to board the ship again it is feeling not so nice.”
Bulajic may have been particularly excited to dock at the Port of Wilmington for a half-day Friday because he knew he would be greeted by a group of smiling faces, a few gifts, some homemade cookies and lots of camaraderie.
It may not have been like going home, but it was the closest he could get to it from halfway around the world.
And that’s exactly what volunteers at the International Seamen’s Center (ISC) and The Propeller Club are going for with their ongoing mission to meet the physical and spiritual needs of crew that come through the Port City.
Founded 45 years ago, the Wilmington chapter of the ISC is an interdenominational organization, housed at the Port of Wilmington, that provides short-term amenities and luxuries not found at sea–telephones, phone cards and computers to contact family members, snacks, television, affordable clothing for purchase, transport around town and even an onsite chapel and free Bibles.
The Propeller Club, which just recently reorganized after a decade of dormancy, supports the ISC’s efforts in its overall mission to promote the maritime industry and its related partners.
While ISC annually ministers to more than 7,000 seafarers, volunteers acknowledged the holidays are the most crucial time of year. The group’s Christmas at Sea program provides seamen with a little something extra–needed items like gloves and hats, toiletries and goodies, such as candy and magazines.
Volunteer Carol Borneman said last year, ISC handed out over 700 care packages to crews from dozens of countries between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Items are donated by a growing group of area churches, along with help from partners like The Propeller Club.
What most people don’t realize, Borneman said, is that crews often sign on for a nine-month stint–most of that time isolated aboard ship. Bulajic and his peers, for example, will leave Wilmington en route to Liverpool, England, but will celebrate Christmas Day at sea.
“If you met the people who came off the ships…they’re just so nice and so appreciative,” ISC volunteer Janet Capillary noted.
“I love it when they’re here at the computers Skyping and say, ‘Come meet my family,'” Borneman added.
Capillary’s husband, Henry Capillary, is one of ISC’s two current chaplains. Like his wife and other volunteers, he said the experience is “heartwarming,” both personally and from a greater spiritual perspective.
“People don’t realize how far away these guys are from home. They don’t get to see their families at Christmas. It’s just nice to show them that someone halfway around the world cares about them,” he said. “And to share the love of Christ. It’s like being a world missionary without having to leave home.”
Hilary Snow is a reporter at Port City Daily. Reach her at (910) 772-6341 or [email protected].
