Photo by RET Türkiye

Welcome back to Catch Up with RET – Our monthly newsletter where we shine a light on the stories and news that matters, and give a voice to individuals who are becoming more empowered each day through our programs. 

Want to make a difference? Among other things, $50 can…

• Help to assist women escape situations of domestic violence in Costa Rica and across the world.
• Help a single mother in D.R. Congo send her children to school – for the entire year.
• Support a household in Niger for the entire month.

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Featured Photo

In Türkiye, RET continues its efforts to support refugee and host communities through inclusive education. As part of the “Language Learning as a Tool for Social Cohesion” project, Turkish language courses are offered to help refugees overcome one of the greatest barriers to integration: language.

This initiative empowers participants—especially women and youth—by enhancing their ability to communicate in daily life, access public services, and engage more fully in education, employment, and social spaces. By learning Turkish, participants gain not only linguistic skills but also greater independence and confidence in navigating their environment.

Now in its second phase, the project also offers English classes that bring together refugee and host community members, promoting interaction, mutual understanding, and shared learning experiences. These activities foster stronger social ties and contribute to a more cohesive society.

RET has been implementing this initiative across multiple cities in Türkiye, including Kilis, Mardin, Samsun, and Şanlıurfa.

Stories like that of Firas and Roz—two siblings who overcame past trauma to rediscover the joy of learning—demonstrate that inclusive, learner-centered education is not only a tool for language acquisition, but a pathway to healing, self-confidence, and renewed hope.

RET has been active in Türkiye since 2014. Want to learn more? Click here.

Reflecting on World Refugee Day

June 20 was World Refugee Day, and we published a look at how we’ve worked to empower vulnerable groups all over the world.

It’s crucial to remember that no one becomes a refugee by choice.

People flee their homes because they are forced to—by war, political collapse, corruption, persecution, or natural disaster. They leave behind families, careers, schools, homes, and identities not because they want to, but because staying has become impossible.

 Over 25 years, we’ve stood with refugees and displaced communities in over 30 countries. We’ve seen what happens when they are given a chance to rebuild: They lead, they grow, they thrive. To read more about our commitment, work, and what’s to come, check out the full article.

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…

• Mauritania: From a lively solidarity march to sports, films, and exhibitions, we along with our partners had a blast joining hands with refugees to honor resilience, inclusion, and togetherness during the World Refugee Day at Mbera Camp. Read more on this activity.
• D.R. Congo: In Nkwenda, a village tucked in the hills of Rutshuru, North Kivu, a quiet but powerful transformation is taking place. Local populations communities—long rooted in traditional hunting practices—are now embracing agriculture as a new way of life. More about the story here.
• Peru: As part of the Multiyear Resilience Program Aprender Sin Barreras (Learning without Barriers), funded by Education Cannot Wait (ECW), we conducted training sessions to strengthen the inclusion approach in educational settings in Lima and Trujillo. Read more about the training.

Longer Reads

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

• To mark World Refugee Day, celebrated each year on June 20, RET in Niger stood alongside the communities of Ouallam, Ayorou, Maradi, and Niamey to honor the resilience, courage, and strength of forcibly displaced people. This year’s theme, “Solidarity with Refugees,” served as a unifying thread throughout the celebrations, reinforcing the values of unity, inclusion, and peaceful coexistence.  Read the full article about that day here.
• In a context marked by deep educational gaps—driven by migration, gender inequality, and a lack of adaptation of the education system to cultural diversity—RET in Peru has launched an innovative School Reinforcement Strategy called DIVERTICLASES. Aligned with the Peruvian Ministry of Education’s learning recovery strategy, this initiative seeks not only to strengthen communication and math competencies but also to create inclusive, safe, and emotionally supportive learning environments for more than 5,000 migrant, refugee, and host community children and adolescents in Lima Metropolitan Area and Trujillo. Read more on the project.
• In 2024 in Mardin and Kilis, Türkiye, we worked with women to improve their social skills and promote economic empowerment. Together, these changes helped spur stronger community ties, as well as encourage local youth involvement. A total of 1,740 women were targeted under this component. Key activities included Seminars on Business Opportunities, which reached 294 women. Read the full article here.

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

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