It has rarely been a practice to observe how seafarers' wives get on with their respective careers if unrelated to the maritime industry.A case in point is Ayessa Sta. Maria, wife of a second mate tanker man from Hartmann Crew Philippines.Sta. Maria's story is almost the same as with all seafarers' wives — raising the children alone, managing finances, and carrying the responsibility of both mother and father for years on end.
Imagine having your income-generating unit with a million peso-debt,' Sta. Maria lamented.Sta. Maria worked to get their units included in a consolidation program to make their modernization easier.'We managed to form a transport cooperative, and I am one of the board of directors. The expenses and time spent to sort out all the necessary paperwork to consolidate our units were significant. We made sure to comply with government requirements to continue our operations.