Photo by RET

Welcome back to Catch Up with RET! Did you know that we’re celebrating 25 years of empowering vulnerable people across the globe? We have operations 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.

Career Opportunities

RET in Ecuador is hiring! Our Multiyear Resilience Program with Education Cannot Wait (ECW) is ramping up, and the following positions are currently open for applications:

• Oficial MEAL Y Gestión de Información: https://theret.org/ecu-myrp2-oficial-meal-y-gestion-de-informacion-ecuador/
• Oficial de Programa: https://theret.org/ecu-myrp2-oficial-de-programa-ecuador/

For more opportunities, check out our Careers page.

Featured Photo

This month’s featured photo comes from our archives and our work in Chad, where RET worked for many years promoting peaceful communities in and around refugee camps in the southern part of the country. We also worked to engage youth, like the ones pictured here, offering them avenues to become actors for peace and stability. The Peace Clubs, which were at the heart of this project, had an impact on increasing tolerance and cooperation between young refugees and the host community members.

The greatest positive changes in perception and interaction between different groups can undoubtedly be found in the relationship between refugees and members of the host community, who are now socializing, collaborating and learning to discuss the root causes of problems that cause conflict, especially on agriculture and herders. The impact of youth peace initiatives on such problems should not be underestimated and is clear evidence of the important role young people play in peace and stability in their communities.

Impact Story

Did you know RET’s been active in D.R. Congo since 2012? And since 2021, we’ve worked with communities in the eastern regions of the country to promote peace.

In Goma, we sat down with the founder and national coordinator for one of our local partners, ACPEJ, to discuss the impact our work has had on bringing peace to conflict-torn areas. Kamate’s story is one of hope – from beneficiary to partner – and demonstrates how our mission to promote resilience and empowerment leads to transformation of individuals and their communities.

Together with local NGOs like ACPEJ, as well as FDAPID, and PAP-RDC, we’re working to promote peace across the Ituri and North Kivu provinces. In our next video, we’ll take a firsthand look at how we’re doing it at the grassroots level.

To stay up to date on all our work, subscribe to our YouTube channel (and click the notification bell) to know when we post new videos.

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…

• This month, we spotlighted our efforts in Mexico, where RET is addressing systemic injustices and advocating for the rights of displaced families and local populations. Through education, advocacy, and disaster risk preparedness, we are working to create safer communities. Read more here how RET is working to eliminate racial discrimination and build just societies where everyone can thrive.
• This month in D.R. Congo, we highlight the resilience of the people of Shasha, North Kivu, who have returned home after two years in displacement. With support from BMZ, RET and ACPEJ are working to address their needs, provide psychological support, and restore livelihoods, ensuring a fresh start for returnees. Read more about the story here.
• RET is empowering youth through business management training in Mali. Through the BMZ-funded Livelihoods Improvement and Food Security Project, 235 young people gained essential skills in entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and business development. With hands-on support, they are now equipped to launch and grow their ventures, paving the way for economic resilience. Read more here about the story.

Longer Reads

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

• Since 2012, RET has directly supported more than 55,765 program participants in DRC (20% of them women) through 19 projects. At present, we’re implementing a multi-year undertaking that is focused on improving the food security and nutrition situation in Ituri and North Kivu, to support peace and inclusive co-existence of conflict-affected populations in that part of eastern DRC. Our team spoke to one program participant about the how the experience has impacted her life. Read the full article here.
• At 28 and 27 years old, Doussou Sanogo and Mariam Dara had no prior experience in agro-food processing. They were always curious about how certain products, like pre-cooked fonio and djouka, were made, but they never had the opportunity to learn. RET is proud to have launched operations in Mali, in late 2022, directly supporting tens of thousands of program participants like Doussou and Mariam. Read more about their success story.

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

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