Photo by RET

Welcome back to Catch Up with RET! This year, we celebrate 25 years of empowering vulnerable people across the globe. We’re active in 15 countries, and each month, we use this newsletter highlight our team’s work, and the impact we’re having on local communities and on the lives of women, girls, and youth.

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Featured Photo

This month’s featured photo comes from our team in Türkiye, where we’ve been active since 2014. This is the story behind the photo:

Participants at RET’s “Managing Recruitment, Adaptation, and Motivation Processes” workshop engaging in a dynamic discussion. This event brought together HR professionals and managers from various sectors to share experiences and strategies. Through interactive activities and group work, participants explored innovative approaches to recruitment and motivating different teams as part of the “Mapping Skills and Employment Pathways in Central Anatolia” project. This initiative, supported by the UK Embassy in Ankara, empowers refugees and vulnerable host community members by bridging gaps in the labor market and promoting formal employment opportunities.

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RET at 25: Celebrating a Quarter Century of Empowering Communities

This year, RET International proudly celebrates its 25th anniversary, marking a quarter-century of empowering refugees, displaced populations, and vulnerable communities worldwide. Founded in 2000, RET remains dedicated to its mission of providing education, protection, and resilience-building programs in fragile contexts, helping refugees – women, youth, and girls – and other vulnerable groups transform their futures. Read more here about our founder, the challenges we’ve navigated, and what we have planned for this special year.

Photo by RET

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And to support our work in communities around the world, make a donation to RET today.

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In Brief

We’re on the ground in 15 countries. Here’s what we’ve been up to in just a few of them over the last month…

• In Kayogoro, Makamba Province, near the Tanzania border, RET in Burundi is making a difference by bringing quality education within reach for children in crisis-affected areas. Through the distribution of essential learning materials as part of the Education Cannot Wait (ECW) program, RET is giving students the tools they need to thrive. Read more about the story.
• In Mauritania, our connectivity center helps young people take their technical skills to the next level by giving them access to laptops and tablets and providing digital literacy courses. With solar panels and a satellite internet connection, it also provides a reliable way for young people – and the larger community – to connect with the rest of the world. Help us ensure that this center can stay up to date and continue providing a critical resource for the community by making a donation today.
• In DRC, we’re enabling financial independence in Rutshuru, through income-generating activities (AGR). We’re helping individuals including young ex-combatant to rebuild their lives and positively impact the local economy. We are supporting pathways to independence and resilience in Biruma and beyond. Read the story here.

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Longer Reads

Here’s a roundup of a couple articles that take a deeper dive into our work.

• Escaping instability and conflict in Afghanistan and Syria, two refugees from vastly different cultures and backgrounds found an unlikely friendship in Türkiye. Despite language barriers and cultural differences, Halime and Tağrid formed a deep connection at RET’s Community Center in Aksaray, proving that shared challenges can unite even the most diverse of hearts. While both Halime and Tağrid have been in Türkiye for a number years, like many others, they faced challenges in learning Turkish and navigating a new culture. Halime, who had been struggling with reading and writing Turkish, enrolled in a Turkish language course at RET International. It was there that she met Tağrid, who was also seeking to improve her Turkish skills.  Read  the full article.
• In the border town of Tamou located in the southwestern Niger, 80 km from the department of Say on the edge of the border between Niger and Burkina Faso, life was once marked by the bustling rhythm of its weekly market. Yet, since 2015, this community has faced waves of violence from armed groups and jihadist attacks, leaving schools under threat and families in fear. The instability has forced many children out of school, depriving them of the chance to learn and thrive. But hope has emerged for the children of Tamou through RET’s efforts, with support from Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to ensure access to education for out-of-school youth. One such child is Rafia Boubacar. Read more about her story here.

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That’s it for this edition of Catch Up with RET, but before we close…

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You can also have a direct impact projects like ones mentioned above by making a donation today.