National Coast Guard Day

August 4th is Coast Guard Day honouring the courageous work of coast guards all around the globe. Did you know, for example, that when Hurricane Katrina struck the Atlantic coast of America in August 2005, the US Coast Guards saved over 33,500 lives!

It got me thinking about another excellent charity - RNLI 

Royal National Lifeboat Institution

Saving Lives at Sea

** The RNLI was founded back in 1824 by Sir William Hillary.  It is the oldest lifeboat service in the world.

** In WWII, between 27 May and 4 June 1940, nineteen RNLI lifeboats sailed to and from Dunkirk to assist with the evacuation of 338,000 stranded servicemen.

** Today there are 238 lifeboat stations around the UK and Ireland, covering 19,000 miles of coastline.  They include four on the River Thames, and five inland stations – at Loch Ness in Scotland and Carrybridge, Enniskillen, Lough Ree and Lough Derg in Ireland.

** RNLI has 445 lifeboats (including 7 hovercraft) in service.

** Lifeboats are predominantly orange because it makes them more visible on the water.

** When someone is in danger in the water, every second counts.  Lifeguards are often the first on hand to help. All RNLI lifeguards hold an internationally recognised beach lifeguard qualification. As well as having vital lifesaving skills, they must be able to complete: 
• a 400m pool swim in under 7½ minutes 
• a consecutive 25m underwater and 25m surface pool swim in under 50 seconds 
• a 200m beach run in under 40 seconds.

** Most lifeboat crew members are volunteers - ordinary people who simply and selflessly want to save lives at sea. When the pagers go off, they drop everything and are regularly called away from their families, their beds and their work, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

** Every year, these volunteer life-boat crews and lifeguards help and rescue thousands of people and have saved over 142,700 lives since 1824.

Donate to the RNLI and help save lives

https://rnli.org/support-us/give-money/donate

Thought for the week ...

An Update from Sonali Mishra

One of the lovely parts of my role is the continuing contact I have with students who have graduated and returned to their home nations, or maybe gone on to study elsewhere.

Today I received a lovely update from Sonali Mishra, from India, who came to the University of Greenwich for a three month internship last summer as part of her PhD.  Sonali joined in LOTS of our Chaplaincy activities and I believe they helped make her experience here extra special.  If you look back to 22nd July 2019 you'll find a blog post that Sonali wrote entitled 'My three months in the UK'.

She now writes thanking us for all the support she received during her time here and saying how much she cherishes those memories.

Sonali, we want to say a

BIG CONGRATULATIONS

to you on the completion of your PhD!!!

Happy Eid

This weekend has been the celebration for Eid al-Adha. A time when Muslims would usually get together with family and friends and enjoy a feast.  Well, many Muslim students are a long way from their families and at this current time there are obvious limitations around social gatherings. 

However, it was a privilege to offer my garden yesterday as a safe space where we could maintain social distancing but still enjoy each other's company.  Many thanks to Basel & Aiste, Ahmad, Hazem, Mohammed, Arwa, Ahmed and Muhanned for such a lovely few hours  ...  great company and scrumptious food.

International Day of Friendship

International Day of Friendship

July 30th

Our world faces many challenges, crises and forces of division — such as poverty, violence, and human rights abuses — among many others — that undermine peace, security, development and social harmony among the world's peoples.

To confront those crises and challenges, their root causes must be addressed by promoting and defending a shared spirit of human solidarity that takes many forms — the simplest of which is friendship.

Through friendship — by accumulating bonds of camaraderie and developing strong ties of trust — we can contribute to the fundamental shifts that are urgently needed to achieve lasting stability, weave a safety net that will protect us all, and generate passion for a better world where all are united for the greater good.   (Taken from www.un.org)

A few weeks ago I messaged a whole bunch of friends, colleagues and students asking them how they would complete the sentence, 
"Friendship is ..."
(I was inundated with responses - here are some of them)

"... when you understand someone and feel that they understand you too."   (Ali)

"... someone who knows who you are, understands where you've been, accepts who you've become, and still gently invites you to grow."   (Kirsten)

"... memories that last even if the contact is lost."  (Souad)

"... like an ice-cream in summer; happy and enjoyable with a soothing effect."  (Pattamanan)

"... like a group of penguins shielding each other from harm and cold and spreading warmth when most needed."  (Pesila)

"... mutual respect and love."  (Amira)

"... when people listen to all the nonsense you talk all day long and still like you."  (Arshad)

"... a beautiful gift."  (Trudy)

"... checking in on one another even though you haven't spoken to them for a zillion years, and when you can still start up the conversations where you left off."  (Sonali)

"... someone who understands you."  (Anna)

"... being honest, always being there and never judging."  (Lynne)

"... to be able to talk without fear of judgement."  (Simon)

"... when someone knows all about you and still loves you."  (Chris)

"... loyalty."  (Jose)

"... priceless."  (Hazem)

"... love, acceptance and emotional support."  (Keegan)

"... JOY - there's nothing like sharing something (an adventure, a movie, a chat) with a friend. Things taste differently when experienced alone I think."  (Manuela)

"... hopeful; see's the real you and accepts who you are; makes memories; gives a sense of worth; is there for you in the highs and the lows; tells you the truth; picks you up; has your back; checks in on you from time to time; wants the best for you and celebrates with you through life's special moments... Friendship is more than things, it is more than words can describe, and sometimes, it just happens!"  (James)

"... accepting people as they are with no judgement."  (Jane)

"... having someone to turn to in a crisis or just go out for a meal and a chitchat. Having someone to laugh and cry with.  Being loved for who you are."  (Angela)

"... doing life together through the ups and the downs, good and bad. Being there for and with each other."  (Roger)

"... love from 'family' that you actually get to choose for yourself."  (Jerminah)

"... when people know all about you and like you anyway!"  (Pauline)

"... knowing you are cared for and valued in return."  (Frank)

"... unconditional sacrifice."  (Michel)

"... looking out for one another."  (John)

"... being there for one another and knowing that you are cared for and valued in return."  (Frank)

"... the one who will fight for you, love you, encourage you and always pray for your happiness."  (Elawarasi) 

"... a valuable gift. It's to share your best days and blue days, a smile and a hug, to listen and to laugh, it is respecting beliefs and thoughts and loving your friend no matter what."  (Lina)

"... a bond of two souls from heaven."  (Basim)

"... loving each other for who you are."  (Ahmed)

"... an expression of love."  (Haris)

"... always being honest."  (Heather)

"... being able to continue a deep, meaningful conversation or carry on that funny story with plenty of laughs, even if you haven't seen each other for weeks."  (Mark)

"... so weird. You pick a random human you have never met and you are like, 'This one. I want to go on adventures with this one!'"  (Awad)

"... when though a thousand miles apart you still remember each other."  (Daria)

"... the key to everything."  (Aamir)

Thought for the week ...

University of Greenwich Graduations

One of the best parts of my role, is celebrating with students on their graduation day. The culmination of late nights, periods of stress and lots of hard work.

Today the University of Greenwich celebrated their graduations online, in three different ceremonies.  It was lovely to be able to watch those ceremonies remotely and clap and cheer VERY LOUDLY in the privacy of my living room.

I want to say a VERY BIG WELL DONE to everyone. It was lovely to see your smiling faces, and I look forward to that moment of reunion and celebration that's been promised.

I really enjoyed the speeches and found the whole event very meaningful ...

Rt. Hon. Lord Boateng said,

"We've never needed your skills like we need them now. We've never needed your youth, and your enthusiasm, and your passion to make a difference, than we need them now."

Steve Malkin said,

"We need this class of 2020. We need you to be the very best version of yourself that you can possibly be."

Linda Bird, Mayor of Greenwich Borough said,

"We applaud your resilience and tenacity."

And I want to add a very big

to Hamza, Nadezhda, Sourabh, Afaf, King, Lenka, Razheka, Megan, Dima, Ahmad, Basel, Mustafa, Moksha, Aiste, and anyone else whose name or picture I somehow missed.