WHO WE ARE
Love, Respect, Forgiveness
Offrejoie was born in the midst of a raging civil war in Lebanon in 1985.
A group of young Red Cross volunteers worked together to help the injured. They started with children’s camps during the conflict by bringing groups of children from different social classes and backgrounds together to accept each members’ differences. Those camps have continued their healing work since 1985, and when those children grew up, they carried the values Love, Respect and Forgiveness that they had learned at the camps and became a movement of young citizens from all the different communities and regions in Lebanon.
What began as a group of enthusiastic volunteers in 1985 has developed into a voluntary movement across Lebanon with a footprint in France in 1986 and a sister group in Iraq established in 2012 to share and promote its vision and experience.
Offrejoie understands the necessity of a fair and appeased society where human relationships transcend communitarian barriers and where a social solidarity based on the shared values of generosity, trust, forgiveness, honesty and ethic is upheld, where men would do unto others only what they want done to them, in a spirit of mutual respect and deep belief in a reconciliation and a better tomorrow for all.
Offrejoie promotes supporting the most vulnerable without any documentation and opposes all forms of ignorance, contempt and isolationism. Through a genuine open mindedness, Offrejoie appreciates the richness of human differences and learns from them.
Offrejoie recognizes each person’s suffering and encourages individuals to recognize the Other’s suffering as equal to theirs. Offrejoie analyzes the past objectively, paving the way for forgiveness and mutual trust to be at the core of a society that never compromises on fundamental human rights.
The mission of Offrejoie is “To gather the entire family of Lebanon". Offrejoie believes that fragmented societies can heal through the creation of human relationships born of shared opportunities to serve the community. By serving together a spirit of mutual regard and esteem grows fostering a sense of solidarity and a new understanding of citizenship.
Offrejoie envisions a society whose citizens are united in diversity and committed to honoring the fundamental human rights of all.
Offrejoie’s members are mainly volunteers. They lead by example, living a life of openness and acceptance. They are also committed to establish a network of solidarity, nationally and internationally.
Become a Member2013 – National Order of the Cedar by the Lebanese President
2014 – Peace Award for Lebanon by the Ghazal Foundation and the Fondation de France
2018 – Elias Hraoui Award by the Elias Hraoui Commemoration Committee
On August 4, 2020, the explosion of ammonium nitrate in the Port of Beirut left at least 190 dead, 5,000 injured and 300,000 citizens homeless.
Offrejoie responded quickly by assessing the damages of the blast in the areas closest to the sea port, setting up an emergency rehabilitation program in four of the most severely affected neighborhoods: Karantina, Mar Mikhael, Khandak el Ghamik, and Basta
Rehabilitation works are taking place in more than 52 buildings and 352 apartments in Karantina and Mar Mikhael, and glass repairs of 40 buildings in Khandak el Ghamik, and Basta, aiming to assist more than 350 families to return to their normal lives in dignity and safety before winter.
In April 2020, Offrejoie launched a food bank campaign to help the most vulnerable populations across Lebanon.
The reality is that most of the families we serve have lost their income and are currently food insecure. This is why we mobilized our network of volunteers and supporters to help the families most in need, in the short term with in-kind food and hygiene kits and in the mid-longer term with financial support to recover their livelihoods.
So far, we have received requests from over 4,000 families and managed to distribute over 1,500 food parcels until today reaching over 1,600 families across Lebanon.
Lebanon has witnessed an amazing solidarity over the past few months, and the generosity of the Lebanese in their homeland and the Lebanese diaspora has saved lives.