Iris Center Update

Dear all Iris center friends 🙏🌷🥰

I want to say thank you so much to all of you for doing an amazing job in this surreal time. I want to say a special thank you so much to sister Shirley and sister @Ruhi Lauren Akhtar for continue to do aid distribusjons under the current difficult circumstances. Without their heroic effort the Iris center team would not be able to help 🙏🥰

We’re facing so difficult times this days and it’s very important we stay together and support each other 🌷
I can’t imagine how difficult it is for you guys in the camp. I daily get messages from people in need of everything and they tell me about that they’re starving 😓
We’ve had the possibility to distribute some strollers in Vial, and we’re constantly working on distributing aid to the people in need …

We also do distributions in the apartments as usual with toiletries, pampers, milk powder and porridge powder. We continue helping mothers giving birth at the hospital with toiletries, pampers, clothes and strollers.
Iris center teams work is a collaborative project without all our supporters, friends, donations of aid and money we would not be able to help – a big thank you so much to all of you 🙏🌷🥰

Thank you so much to the other organizations we cooperate with:
✨ Our Czech friends
✨ Carry The Future
✨ Chios Eastern Shore Response Team – CESRT
✨ Støttegruppa for Iris senter
✨ Refugee Biriyani & Bananas
✨ and many good hearted friends

Thank you so much to all Iris center team members – together we’re stronger 💪😍

Stay safe, take care with clean hands 🙌🙏🥰

We always need donations so please donate if you’ve the possibility 🙏

Every penny is used where it’s most needed for our sisters and brothers on the run 👍🌷

Thank you so much in advance 🌈

The Iris center team is an registered Norwegian NGO situated on Chios, Greece.

Org.nr. 921832559
Account number 1506.27.12330
International account number
NO77 1506 2712 330
BIC (Swift-address) DNBANOKKXXX
Vipps nr 584206
PayPal account
https://www.paypal.me/iriscenterchios

or use the button:

Happy Easter 🐇🐥🐣🥰

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Dear all Iris Center supporters

Dear all supporters of Iris center team 🙏🌷

Yesterday the team distributed men’s clothes to about 120 men in Vial. We prioritized the new arrivals from the last weeks. Because the Iris center team are so honored to have residents from Vial in the team, we’re able to locate the new arrivals the day after they’re arrived and have been registered and give them what they need.

We gave out:
– trousers
– shorts
– t-shirts
– shirts
– belts
– traditional dresses
– shoes

Thank you so much to our friends from Germany, “The Refugees Foundation” and UK, “The Ripple Effect, Lancaster”. Without donations from you, we would not be able to help our sisters and brothers on the run. Thank you so much 🙏

As usual under a distribution, we chat with people in the line. The team found out that the new arrivals needed toiletries and strollers. Thus, we decided there and then, to hurry back to the container area and pick up strollers and distribute them. We also decided to give out toiletries to the new arrivals today.

We ended our day eating dinner at the cozy taverna Pinaleon in Karfas. The dinner was a donation from Sølvi Sinkaberg and her organisation, HÅP!
Sølvi and her organisation have supported the team for more than a year and is Iris center teams spinal cord 🙏🌷🙌💕

Please feel free to donate to our work for refugees on Chios:

Paypal: https://www.paypal.me/Iriscenterchios
Or
Vipps: +47-90558699

Thank you so much in advance 🙏

Janne Hegna
Iris Center, Chios

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Thank you for all donations !

Yesterday the team cleaned and sorted a lot of toys that we’ll distribute one of the days. The spring is coming so the weather is getting warmer. The team wanted to go for a swim. We went to Karfas beach 🏝. Afterwards, we went to Limoni Taverna for a late lunch. A great taverna in Karfas.

Today the team distributed kids clothes to more than 200 kids in Vial, kids clothes to people in two locations outside Vial. The kids was so happy to get nice summer clothes donated from the German “Refugees Foundation”.

We visited the mother with the new-born twins. It turned out that she didn’t have any milk powder or food 😓 So we went and bought it for her.

I’m so happy that the Iris center team are able to react and fill the gaps when we discover them.

Thanks to all the donations from the amazing Iris center team supporters, we can do our best for our sisters and brothers on the run – EVERY DAY 🙌💗😃

Janne Hegna,
Iris Center, Chios

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Hard working team and friends

The hard working Iris center teams goal yesterday was to empty one of our containers.

The team have received a lot of aid from our German friends, “The Refugees Foundation” and also from Ruhi Loren’s organization “Refugee Biriyani & Bananas”. The team have distributed a lot of this tings to the apartments, the Albanian families and in Vial. So we was able to reduce the amount of containers. We pay a monthly rent for the containers so by empty one container we’ve more money to spend on the refugees.

The plan for next week is to distribute as much as possible of the summer clothes to Vial, the Albanian families and the apartments. We’ll also give out crocs to women and children.

The Iris center team will follow up the single twins mother and probably already today a woman will come and help and live with her and the lovely babies 🙏👶💕👶💕

So many to thank just now:
– Thank you so much amazing Shirley for making this happen.
– Thank you so much to Amir Sharify, Prince Baktash Hadis, Zuhor and Abu for emptying the container.
– I’ll also use the opportunity to say a thank you so much to the Norwegian support group, “Støttegruppa for Iris senteret” for a lot of aid and also donations.
– Thank you so much to HÅP and Sølvi for following up the twins mother.
– Thank you so much to Selina Ingram for donating her birthday gift to the Iris center teams work.
– Thank you so much to Inger-Lise Gabrielsen for donations so we can distribute Crocks to women and kids in Vial.
– And also all the other Iris center supporters.

TOGETHER WE ARE DYNAMITE !!!

🙌✨🌷🙏💗

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Newborn twins

Yesterday, Mette and Inger-Lise  visited a refugee mother with newborn twins, and this is their summary:

“We have been visiting the mother with the small newborn twin boys today. The mother seemed to be quite okay after her caeserian. She was smiling, giving her boys all the attention they needed. She asked for some clothes for herself, and it is being taken care of. The boys need something for the stroller when they are to be taken out, but they are too small and tiny for what is available at this time. We have gotten some money from friends for buying what they still need, and we will do so next week.

It was a pleasure to visit her. Some pictures here, published with the mother’s blessing.”

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Iris Center filling gaps in the refugee work

The Iris centers policy is to help those who needs it and fill gap concerning the refugees crisis on the island of Chios and also others in need.

Wednesday 24th April the team prepared and distributed clothes for women and men at two locations outside the camp. It’s about 30 families that for some reason is moved from Vial to an apartment or actually in many cases only a small room. The reason can be new born baby or babies, some kind of illness, disabilities of different kinds, war wounds etc.

Because it’s not so many people they’ve more time to choose items and we’ve more time to talk with people which is very nice.

Many of the families in the apartments feel forgotten… In Vial they’ve their community, friends and volunteers helping them with clothes and toiletries.

The Iris center team will follow up the apartments closely with aid and also help with other things if it’s needed as the twins mother.

While distributing to the apartments we found out that a mother didn’t had any food… We went to the supermarket and bought what she needed.

Yesterday 25th April we distributed women’s clothes to the new arrivals in Vial and also some more summer items to the women that needed.
Amir made a list over the new arrivals that needed strollers and baby clothes. We went back to the container area and prepared and picked up what was needed and went back back to Vial to distribute it.

The strollers to the new arrivals in Vial and the food to the twins mother are donated by Kristin Omnes and Thora Lise Roppestad. The clothes are donated by the German team Refugee foundation and The ripple effect, Lancaster.

To be able to help our sisters and brothers on the run – we’re completely dependent on the amazing Iris team supporters. The team needs donations but we also appreciate so much all the good words from you. It gives so much energy and makes us go on every day.

THANK YOU SO MUCH ☺️🙏🌷

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A new volunteer from Norway Mette Gulbrandsen

Yesterday 23th April the Iris center team started the day welcoming a new volunteer from Norway Mette Gulbrandsen – thank you so much for joining the team again. We’re looking so much forward to working with you.

Every morning we’ve a morning meeting where we decide who is going to do what. Yesterday we decided to store all our winter clothes to one container, because the weather is getting warmer. Amir, Baktash, Rabi, and Zohur wanted to take the responsibility for this.

Shirley is the toiletry coordinator and take care off the toiletries and make sure we don’t run out of some items. Yesterday she prepared toiletries to the six Albanian families and to the single mother with the new born boys. She also prepared a big bag with clothes to them.

Mette and I picked up Abu and bought a twins baby stroller to the mother with the boys. We had all the tings for the mother in the car and went to the hospital.

We got very surprised – the mother has left the hospital and she gave birth 19th April. We started to look for her and found her in an apartment with to new born babies 2kg and 45cm. She had a cesarean section of twins and still had to leave the hospital after only four days…

All the clothes was to big – so we bought some premature clothes for the babies. We’ll help her as much as possible.

In the end of the day we gave out toiletries to the Albanian families.

Thank you so much to everybody that support our team 🙏🌷💕

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Clothes to all the kids in Vial refugee camp

Yesterday the 22th April the Iris center team distributed clothes to all the kids in Vial refugee camp on Chios island, Greece.

We gave out –
– Underwear
– socks
– skirts
– trousers
– t-shirts
– jumpers
– shorts
– jackets
– tights
– summer hats
– caps
– shoes
– baby clothes

The mother or father could pick 5 items to each kid. Some kids came as well and was so happy to have the opportunity to pick summer clothes. We also visit the 6 Albanian families that lives in plastic bags houses close to Vial.

We visited our faithful supporter Sølvi – with her amazing Iris center support group – HÅP. She and her group help us whenever we ask. Thank you so much.
The wether is getting warmer and it’s very sunny when we do the distribution, so the team decided to buy sunglasses 😎 🕶

We also distributed clothes and stroller to a new born baby in Vial refugee camp. The new born babies and the mother was transferred to apartments before – now many of them have to go back to Vial only 4 days after they have given birth…

The clothes we gave out yesterday is donated from our German friends Refugee foundation and the UK team the Ripple effect Landcaster.

We ended the day with dinner paid by donations from Big mama and Kristin Omnes.

Thank you so much!

Thank you so much to all Iris center team supporters for supporting us – without you we would not have the opportunity to help our sisters and brothers on the run.

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Women clothes distribution

Iris center team distributed clothes to all the women in Vial refugee camp on Thursday.

The clothes was given by the Refugee foundation from Germany.

We gave out
– trousers
– leggings
– scarfs
– tops
– abajas
– jumpers
– bra
– underwear

Thank you so much to all that made the distribution possible!

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Sightseeing

Today the team were on a sightseeing trip!

We went to the beautiful city Mesta and afterwards we went to a beach where we were eating, playing and enjoying. It was a very nice day! It was really good for the team to get a day together to just enjoy. This helps us building the team spirit!

We couldn’t give out toiletries to the rest of the men in Vial today, because we don’t have enough donations. We are hoping to get donations before next Saturday! We gave out some strollers in Vial today before we went on the sightseeing .

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