The tragedy gave Ms Oca a sense of mission, a zeal that continues to cut like a knife through her entire being. Initially a book donor project, GASFI has published 10 children’s books which are anchored on traditional Filipino values and mirror real-life situations often faced by seamen’s families. Ten more books are in the pipeline. Translating them from English into the various Philippine languages isn’t on the horizon for now. “No money,” Ms Oca explained. Although it can count for logistical support on the Associated Marine Officers’ and Seamen’s Union of the Philippines (AMOSUP) founded by her father, GASFI is autonomous and has to solicit donations from other sources.
Involvement with seamen and their families came naturally to Ms Oca. When she was about four years old, her father, then a supervisor in a stevedoring firm, would drive her around the piers in his jeep. In 1993 Capt Oca appointed her administrator of AMOSUP’s community development programme. Ms Oca remembers the old man as a “very practical, candid” person. “He was very real. He struck a balance,” she said.
For Ms Oca, though, it’s not just balance that seems to matter but diversity. An economics graduate of the University of California in Santa Barbara, she went on to obtain a master’s degree in hospital administration from the University of the Philippines. She is in the process of developing a degree programme on leadership for the Maritime Academy of Asia & the Pacific (MAAP), AMOSUP’s training arm. Her foundation is also looking to launch a project to help Filipino cassava farmers. That she has boundless energy isn’t surprising. She learned early on the importance of seeing beyond oneself and reaching out to others. “After a while,” she said, “it’s not about money.”
NOTE: This is an ongoing series focusing on women in the maritime world, which is still very much dominated by men. It is hoped that other women will draw inspiration from their dreams, struggles and achievements. Please search our archives for more portraits of maritime women.
If there’s an Air Pollution Index, a Corruption Perception Index and a Poverty Gap Index, why not a Greed Index? It is, after all, human greed that fuels the despoilation of the environment, drives government officials to steal and increases the divide between the haves and the have-nots. The phenomenon may not be as easy to quantify, but it is nonetheless palpable. One must either be blind or apathetic not to notice it in the actions of individuals and corporations – not least of all, in the maritime arena. (more…)
