I am blessed.

I work on a luxury cruise ship, where we have very few guests/passengers, and with a very high rate of crew/Pax ratio.
The guests pay a lot for the service and luxury provided.
We are an international crew with members from about 30-40 different nations.
We are very well taken care of onboard.
With all the breaks and meals we need, and with all the different selection/choices of food in the Crew Mess.

About 20 years ago, I had only been onboard for a few months, and we were repositioning from the Mediterranean towards South East Asia for the winter cruise season there.
We stopped in Djibouti to top up bunkers for the ship.

As always, since a cruise ship (as all hotels) produce a lot of garbage (food waste, regular waste, broken items, scrap, etc), we ordered a huge garbage container on the pier so we could off load the waste.
What I experienced next will forever be remembered.
It was like Christmas Eve for the locals.

They were all over the container bringing most of what we dumped, with them home, as they could still use it. Stuff we didn’t need was indeed highly valuable for the locals.
I remember so clearly how many of us crew members, including myself, had complained about the food quality in the crew mess lately, and that we wanted the standard to be raised to a “satisfactory” level.
I felt so ashamed of myself, and told myself to never take anything for granted in life, and always think of what a blessed life I have, and how lucky I am to come from a rich country where we are provided for.

I am blessed.

Imagine…………. if only the Middle-class people (and even the rich?) in the world chipped in a lousy 25 Dollar each, every month. That’s all, 25 Dollars.
Imagine that impact!

I am really truly blessed.

Rgds, Sailor