Warehouse Update
This week our team have received one container!!!from Wir packen’s and 4 pallets from Hamburger Hifskonvoi!❤️Our volunteers were again busy preparing orders for various actors on the island. We were able to supply:
VIAL (first reception)with 5-2000w heaters !!!The rezidens of Vial are waiting many hours for medical or asylum services and we have bought 5 hitters for the place’s that are waiting!!❤️
FEOX with 4 boxes of blankets; 15 bags + 2 boxes of children’s jackets; 26 boxes of hats, scarves and gloves; 13 bags + 6 boxes of men’s jackets, jumpers, trousers and shirts; 11 bags + 16 boxes of women’s jackets, jumpers, trousers and traditional dress; 7 boxes of socks; 660 museli bars; and 350 camping chairs for their boutique!
REFUGEE BIRYANI & BANANAS with 2 bags + 2 boxes of men’s trousers and we prepared and sized shoes for their distributions.
IOM with 40 hygiene packs and 95 pairs of joggers for unaccompanied minors!!
IRIS CENTRE with 34 boxes of children’s sup supplies 11 boxes of children’s wellies and 6 boxes of children’s clothes
ACTION FOR EDUCATION with 1 box of pens, 2 boxes of notepads, 880 cereal bars and 200 bandanas!
Finally, as part of a new project with ARSIS for all the apartments we gave: 75 boxes of laundry powder, 75 bottles of washing up liquid, 75 bottles of general cleaning liquid, 40 snack packs for school children, 800 bottles of water ,20 school bags with school supplies and 96 packs of wet wipe. This new project will see us supporting particularly vulnerable refugees living in ARSIS/UNHCR apartments across the island each month so we are very pleased to announce this.
As always, a special thank you to our donors who allow us to support multiple organisations!
Apartments Distribution:
This week we have restarted our Apartment Distribution project for the self accomodate apartments!!
Many people living in apartments have been struggling for very basic supplies. Our distribution phone has received many requests that we are trying to fulfil, given our capacity and capabilities.
We have just distributed hygiene packs, nappies, wet wipes, washing powder, duvets, towels, rucksacks, suitcases, socks, tea and biscuits on Friday (07.02.20).We had as well chocolates for all the children and they were super happy ❤️❤️
Next week we will continue to distribute these items, as well as clothes to each house. We aim to give everyone a choice of what clothes they would like.
Many donations we receive are of very good quality, but for one reason or another, it is not possible to give at landings (for example jeans, which are difficult to pull on, compared to the brand new joggers we give instead). This items will be available for each housing unit we visit.
Vial Games Update:
With the rough weather conditions this week we were only able to go to Vial Games twice this week but nonetheless together with the children we created a fun atmosphere. Camp resident volunteers continuously help us and without them this project would not be half the fun for the kids as well as for us.
Thank you so much to everybody who makes this project possible!
Emergency Projects:
We were able to install the steps at the beginning of the week. This went very smoothly thanks to Vial camp management. They provided us with electricity which made the steps extremely easy to install. We also had help from some camp residents.
After installing these steps we noticed the need for more sets to be provided. We spent the rest of the week building another five sets of steps. These are now complete and installed thanks to our amazing hard working team. A few sets are along the same wall as the previous sets and one is next to the football stand.
The need for these additional five sets was made clear as there were many families with young children in the shelters above the wall. We therefore felt to enable sufficient ease of access, we should provide at least one set of steps to every two shelters. The next set is now next to the football stand which will make it safer and easy for hundreds of people every day to reach their shelters and the toilet. It will also stop the shelter next to the steps from having people pushing off it to get up the wall.
Vial Cleaning Update:
We have been delighted to work alongside our regular camp community volunteers.
Our cleaning schedule is well recognised and adhered to. We go regularly enough to have visible impact, but not to push our on camp cleaning community too much. Our schedule allows for the members of our team who reside on camp to rest well between sessions. We recognise this is important as, unlike us, they do not have comfortable homes to return to, warm beds to sleep in, nor showers to bathe in. After working hard at cleaning, it is important we encourage some recouperation time as the conditions on camp are perenially tough and relentlessly difficult.
We are very sensitive to the fact that the areas we clean are extremely dirty and so we provide clothing that both our CESRT/Offene Arme and Vial Camp team members can wear for cleaning, we also offer water and cleansing products after the sessions.
*Language Centre Day Trips Update (February 5th and 7th)*:
This week we started a serie of day trips specially organised for our students from the Language Centre. Over two excursions, 70 students attended. We went to the mastic museum and to the lovely village of Pyrgi. We had the chance to have a great tour guide with us, which made the trip even more educational. The tours started with an introduction about Chios island, its inhabitants, its economy and what the island is well known for: the production of mastic. Our tour guide took us around the mastic trees in the museum’s garden as well as inside the museum and gave us detailed explanation about different aspects of the mastic production.
Lunch was shared altogether before heading to Pyrgi. The museum staff positively welcomed us and was very pleased with our students. They called us exemplary groups! This, we believe, has been a small step forward for community engagement with the local people of Chios.
In Pyrgi, we discovered the beautiful houses painted with decorative motifs, often in black and white, and in multiple shapes. The village is well known for the decoration on the houses as well as for its medieval style with very narrow roads covered by arches and vaults. Our tour guide took us around the village’s labyrinthine streets while telling us more about the history of the place. We finished the tours with a cup of tea on the main square.
The students’ feedbacks have been very positive so far. They were glad they could learn more about Greek culture. Some have said that they had never really realised how big and montaineous Chios was.
We are very excited about the next two trips scheduled for the next week
We would like to thanks all our supporters and volunteers from all over the world ,as well all the team that working in the field and helping people with needs on the island of Chios!!❤️
