Most of the things we buy in the UAE are brought by sea, but how many of us spare a thought for the seamen who stay cooped up on the ship for months?

Now is a chance for you to do something for these homesick people and get something in return for your good deed. 

A designer from New York, who is in Dubai on business, has designed and donated 300 bracelets for Flying Angel, a ship run by a humanitarian organisation for sailors, The Mission to Seafarers.

There are currently more than 300 ports around the world where the Mission to Seafarers are stationed and they have been operating in Dubai since 1962.

Their ship the Flying Angel is a mobile floating centre, which enables seafarers out at sea to communicate with their families and friends.

The Flying Angel has internet facilities, telephones, a library, a shop selling small essential items and two welfare officers cum chaplains who look after the seafarers' wellbeing. It operates off the cost of Fujairah serving the crews of ships who anchor in the world's second-largest anchorage off the east coast of the UAE.

The Flying Angel was built and is run entirely on donations.

Deb Schecter, who runs a jewellery design business Dyanne Belle in New York, has donated 300 bracelets to raise money for the running of the ship.

Talking about the reason she got involved with the cause, Deb Schecter, who has celebrities such as Katie Holmes Cruise, Tyra Banks, Kelly Rippa and Debra Messing as her clients, told Emirates Business: "My mother has always been a great inspiration to me where doing good is concerned and so it has become second nature to me. Even though I am in the fashion business, which is all about making money, I am just content if I can pay my bills and give my two teenaged sons a good education. I want to be a role model for them the way my mother is for me and that is why I get involved in a lot of charity work.

"I am in Dubai to participate in the Dubai International Jewellery Week and explore business opportunities in the emirate. I am staying with a close friend in Dubai whose friend is involved with the Mission to Seafarers.

"When I learnt about the plight of the seafarers on board the ships, the work Mission to Seafarers has been doing to ease their lives and the support ship Flying Angel, I decided to help."

Deb Schecter's bracelets, which are made of sterling silver with angel wings attached to a ring and a coloured leather chord, are being priced at Dh300 each.

The first lot of 150 bracelets was sold at a recent, invitation-only event, which was hosted at the British Embassy Residence in Dubai. The rest of the 150 bracelets will be available for sale through the Flying Angel appeal website www.angelappeal.com.

Talking about the plight of the seafarers, Alexandra Reeves, who helps raise funds for the charity, said: "The reason the ship crew do not come ashore is because it costs a lot for the ships to come into the port so they stay in the anchorage. Also, a lot of document works needs to be done before the crew can land on shore, so most owners don't want to get involved in the expensive and lengthy procedure and prefer to keep the sailors at sea.

"The other reason is the improvements in international shipping. So the turn-around times are now incredibly fast and the crew have little or no time to come ashore. This is because the ships are so far from the shore that if the ship owners allow all the crew to come ashore this would mean losing half the ships crew for a whole working day. As a result of this, seafarers often suffer greater isolation and loneliness than they did before.

"However, shipowners are happy for the Flying Angel to come along side and let the crew off in rotation thus giving everyone a chance to relax."

Talking about the length of time a seafarer can be away from home, she said: "For many officers, it can be as little as one month or as much as six months but for most of the crew the average is eight months.

"Also calling from the ships satellite phones is expensive and there is always a huge queue for the few computers that are on board. So, the Angel helps them get in touch with their families at a cheaper cost."

So go ahead and make someone's day better and also add a piece of jewellery to your collection.


Good samaritans

The keel of the Flying Angel was laid on April 12, 2006, and it was named by Prince Charles on February 28, 2007, in Dubai and inaugurated by Sheikh Saleh in Fujairah in March 2007. The boat was built by Albwady Marine Engineering in Dubai.

All seafarers whose ships use the East Coast anchorage off the UAE benefit from the Flying Angel's facilities that are made available to them when the ship is anchored.

On average, the Flying Angel takes 75 seafarers onboard per day, so more than 2,000 come aboard and use its facilities every month.

Keep up with the latest business news from the region with the Emirates Business 24|7 daily newsletter. To subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.