Putra, Bali and his orphans

So I have been here for about three weeks now. My handover was smooth and I won’t lie, it felt really good to be welcomed so warmly by everyone, like I am back home. I feel like I have left all the stress and near nervous breakdowns back in Canada.  I still feel like I need some change in my life but of course I don’t know what that is.  But this time I am feeling positive and full of energy and just happy, I feel like myself again and all the negativity of the last contract and last vacation has evaporated into thin air. 

I do get frustrated with my job as I am sure like everyone does with their land job. But then sometimes someone reminds you why you do all this in the first place.

I have to tell you about a special little guy named Putra. He is a galley steward (kitchen cleaner) from Indonesia and I met him last contract, it was his first contract on a ship. His job is probably one of the least glamorous jobs on the ship and he earns a modest salary.  I first noticed him in the crew gym, he was always talking to people, laughing and smiling from ear to ear. Now most new Indonesian crew members are very quiet and shy but this little guy was making friends everywhere. 

I soon learned that his family owns and runs and orphanage in Bali, Indonesia. Putra came to our company to gain knowledge and to take it back to his family. He also sent every penny back home for his orphanage.  I saw him one day looking at our employee of the month board and someone walked up to him and told him he would never make it, he told them “Putra will be up there”. 

Putra called me one day and told me some of his kids at the orphanage were sad because their family’s house burned down in a house fire and they felt guilty for surviving. He wanted to make a video of all of his friends and send it to them to cheer them up and to encourage them to learn English.  I made the arrangements and gathered everyone and we made the home video.

Months and months went by and Putra became known all over the ship for his contagious positive attitude and his ear to ear smile. He was nominated to be employee of the month several times. In December of 2014 we unanimously decided that Putra embodies our company values so well and named him our employee of the month.  I felt like a proud Mama, no one deserved it more then him.

The other day Putra found me on Facebook and he told me has a little something for me. He sent me these photos and I immediately burst into tears and I think I cried for a good 20 minutes.  He used the money that’s awarded to employees of the month and he bought his ‘kids’ new computers and bicycles.  But he is so modest that he says that we, his management friends, bought those items for the kids because we made him employee of the month. He doesn’t understand that its all him and his amazing positive vibe, the contagious smile he shares with everyone, his outlook on life and his hard work that got him employee of the month.

I was so moved by these photos, so moved by Putra’s words and his gratitude, it just put everything into perspective. I shared the store with all my friends whose names they put in the photo and we all agreed, Putra is our hero.