Offene Arme

Offene Arme A central information point for the Offene Arme e.V (formerly Chios Eastern Shore Response Team ) The work involved is complex and ever-changing.

Offene Arme is the only remaining NGO in Chios with a Free Shop that continuously provides Non-Food Items (NFIs) to refugees and asylum seekers. NFIs include essentials like diapers, blankets, clothes, shower gel, shoes , razors, toothpaste. We distribute these and so many other supplies through:

• Landing Packs of essentials that can be distributed to the refugees when they first arrive to the q

uarantine area .

• A Free Shop where refugees can choose their own clothes and hygiene items, returning a small sense of normalcy;

• A Pop-up Shop that is set up just outside the refugee camp for Unaccompanied Minors (UAMs) .



• And many, many other projects and activities – like transporting people from the camp to medical appointments, supplying skin infection packs to those afflicted with scabies, creating baby packs for babies born in the camp, etc. Different groups are brought together in a constantly changing environment, but with a single goal of meeting the essential needs and providing services for displaced people from war,prosecution,climate change and other various reasons. For more information, please visit our website: www.cesrt.org

Weekly Update 24/08–28/08This week, we celebrated the birthday of one of our customers at the Free Shop. We made her a b...
01/09/2026

Weekly Update 24/08–28/08

This week, we celebrated the birthday of one of our customers at the Free Shop. We made her a birthday card, put on some music, and danced together - a very sweet moment. It was also the last time we saw her, as she has now left the island to continue her journey. We are very happy that we got to celebrate this special moment with her, and we wish her all the best for what comes next. 💜

We also continued our diaper distribution, which we have now started organizing every three weeks to make it more accessible for women and their babies, and to ensure they can regularly receive these essential items.

Throughout the week, we welcomed 34 customers to our Free Shop, including one very cute baby boy. We also welcomed 11 customers to our Local Shop.

We are now continuing to provide essential items to asylum seekers arriving on the island but, more importantly, we are providing kindness, compassion and a safe space where everyone is welcomed.

As always, thank you for your support, which allows us to keep providing not only essential items, but also a little bit of humanity along the way. ☺️

Today we meet our amazing volunteer, Yoyo! Thank you so much Yoyo for your time, energy, and support! 🧡
25/08/2026

Today we meet our amazing volunteer, Yoyo! Thank you so much Yoyo for your time, energy, and support! 🧡

Weekly update August 17 - 21Within this busy week, we were all touched when chatting to a young man who was waiting for ...
25/08/2026

Weekly update August 17 - 21

Within this busy week, we were all touched when chatting to a young man who was waiting for his friends to finish shopping, he told us that he had never smiled in his life and it was only when he arrived to Europe that he smiled for the first time.

Throughout the week, we served 70 customers in the Free shop, including 58 men and 12 women, one of which was pregnant.
In the local shop we served 5 people and provided a new UAM with a welcome pack of clothes and hygiene.
We were also very fortunate that one of our current volunteers, who is not only spending her holidays with us to volunteer, also made a generous donation enabling us to buy much needed men’s shoes and flip flops and sanitary pads for women.
It’s great to see all the donations directly being appreciated by our customers.
We would like to thanks all our team members,the ones that works remotely,our supporters and everyone who contribute towards our goals.

With so many crises globally we are struggling financially to stand the following months, but definitely we are going to get prepared for the winter distribution all September and we will do the winter distribution for all the residents of Vial.

If you can support us, the link to donate is https://www.offenearme.org/donate/

Starting the week with a fantastic team and a diaper distribution outside of Vial! Happy Monday to all our wonderful sup...
24/08/2026

Starting the week with a fantastic team and a diaper distribution outside of Vial! Happy Monday to all our wonderful supporters ☀️

Weekly Update 10/08-14/08This week, a man asked us if he could volunteer with us at Offene Arme after finishing his shop...
19/08/2026

Weekly Update 10/08-14/08

This week, a man asked us if he could volunteer with us at Offene Arme after finishing his shopping. As it turned out, he had experience in client services, and he was a huge help throughout his time at the shop - assisting with translation and helping non-English speakers understand how the shop works, making sure everyone found what they needed. This kind of generosity from those we help is what keeps our work meaningful.

Throughout the week, we welcomed 72 customers to our Free Shop, including 61 men and 11 women. We also served 26 customers through our Local Shop, including 3 babies and 4 children.

We provided new arrivals at Vial with clothes, men’s underwear and hygiene items. The Sisters of the North also gifted us the most beautiful baby clothes, shoes, toys, and towels. A huge thank you as well to our amazing partner Christian Refugee Relief, who provided a large donation of clothes, men’s underwear, sanitary pads, and hygiene products. Finally, the association Humansnation from Lausanne donated a wonderful selection of clothes and shoes - the men’s shoes were such high quality that they are being snatched up almost immediately!

Every donation this week - from our hygiene items to a volunteer’s time — went straight into someone’s hands who needed it. That’s the difference you make, see you next week ❤️

Today we meet with our one and only official moon child, Arianna, who was one of our Free Shop and Warehouse coordinator...
11/08/2026

Today we meet with our one and only official moon child, Arianna, who was one of our Free Shop and Warehouse coordinators from March through July! 🌼

Weekly Report 03-09 AugustThis week was especially special for us as we wished good luck to a couple of babies who were ...
11/08/2026

Weekly Report 03-09 August

This week was especially special for us as we wished good luck to a couple of babies who were born here and who we delivered a baby basket to and just left the island after receiving their refugee status. Exchanging with them during the diaper distribution and again at the end of the week in the local shop as they shopped for clothes to get on the rest of their journey, it was great to be able to say proper goodbyes and wish them all the best.

By the end of the week we started welcoming all the new arrivals who arrived on the island at the end of July. 10 women, one of whom was pregnant, and 18 men visited the shop.

In addition, with the temperatures being very high this week, the team did two distributions outside Vial Camp, to avoid women and children having to come to the warehouse to collect recurring items.

First we distributed diapers to 11 children/babies and the second time we time a much appreciated summer dresses and skirts, along with sanitary pads distribution was made to 49 women.

It was very saddening to hear for one more time one Ngo that we cooperated for years to close operations in Vial — Zeuxis.

Our team was able to react very quickly, delivering not only 6 welcome packs to newly arrived Unaccompanied Minors with a couple of hours, but also providing bedsheets, pillows and hygiene products to all UAMs currently in the camp.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors that donated to the bank account of OA we were able to purchase 88 pairs of new shoes for teens and men just in time for the new arrivals.

We also received a generous donation from Teresa’s family and friends of several much needed long sleeve tops for men.

The local shop was also very busy this week, with 32 people visiting many of whom were people finally being able to move on from the island.

🧡

Weekly updates 27/07 - 31/07Last week, a family brought us a heartfelt moment to our Free Shop. While a volunteer cuddle...
07/08/2026

Weekly updates 27/07 - 31/07

Last week, a family brought us a heartfelt moment to our Free Shop. While a volunteer cuddled and sang Norwegian lullabies to their baby boy - giving his mom a peaceful moment to shop, the father found a new outfit and changed before leaving. Seeing them walk out smiling with their bags full reminds us exactly why we do this.

We finally welcomed the last of the new arrivals who reached Chios over a month ago. We are so relieved to have finally provided them with essential NFIs.

Throughout the week, we welcomed 44 customers to our Free Shop, all of which were new arrivals, including 31 men, 12 women and 2 that are pregnant, and 1 baby boy. We also served 11 customers through our Local Shop and provided diapers for another baby boy. Welcoming several pregnant women this week allows us to proactively prepare our baby baskets ahead of time, ensuring future mothers have everything ready for their newborns.

We wish you a wonderful weekend! 💛

We are grateful to have such a great team of volunteers on the ground! Big thank you to all those who choose to spend th...
06/08/2026

We are grateful to have such a great team of volunteers on the ground! Big thank you to all those who choose to spend their summer supporting asylum seekers on Chios. 🌞

Given the heat, we wanted to make access to baby supplies as easy as possible for families living in Vial. To reduce the...
06/08/2026

Given the heat, we wanted to make access to baby supplies as easy as possible for families living in Vial. To reduce the need for parents to walk to our warehouse under the strong sun, we organized a diaper distribution close to the camp. Here are some team photos from the day 🧡

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Chios
Chios

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+302271032979

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