The Mascarona Foundation a non-profit entity
With the aim of offering support, services and well-being to the people who work in the Merchant Navy, the inauguration of Mascarona, Foundation for Seafarers, was held at the Naval Club of Valparaíso, which is also part of the implementation in Chile of the International Convention on Maritime Labor.
The Mascarona Foundation is a non-profit entity, the first of its kind in Chile and the third in Latin America, which bases its mission on 3 pillars: provide shelter, support and well-being for all seafarers; provide tools, resources and opportunities; and optimize performance on board.
In practice, the Foundation aims at the creation of a Wellness Center, which from the port of Valparaíso to the World, will allow to receive seafarers and the personnel in charge of managing their needs, with a view to empowering the maritime sector and giving compliance with the duties assumed in a guided manner, under international standards of organizations recognized worldwide in the matter.
In global terms, the Mascarona Foundation aims to bring the land (with all its services) closer to the sea.
The initiative arises from its founder and president, Raquel Meza Labarra, who is also CEO of South Pacific Seafares (SPS) Chile, Agent Manning of South Pacific Manning (SPM) Chile and member of the Association of Women in the Shipping Industry and Commerce International (Wista) Chile.
It should be noted that Raquel Meza Labarra is a businesswoman from Valparaíso with more than 13 years of experience in the maritime port sector, an area historically reserved for men, where women have been opening spaces and positioning themselves in different roles in the shipping industry. As a member of Wista Chile (Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association), her contribution to the empowerment of women in the maritime community is recognized.
“I firmly believe that the shipping industry is an important source of employment and a significant professional path for the workers of our country, even more so if those of us who make it up work oriented towards overcoming and valuing the opportunities that exist in this productive sector” indicated Raquel Meza. To this she added that “it is known that life in the Merchant Navy is hard, from the point of view of the distance from home and family, in addition to the long periods of time that they are on board, to be able to fulfill the important mission of transport, from which we all benefited. More than 90% of international trade is transported by sea. That is why from the Foundation we strive to provide better conditions and services to our seafarers, so that they can feel more connected and close to the land, with all that this implies”, she concluded.