Photo courtesy GATE Lebanon, © RET Germany

Article by Carine Harouny, Operations and Communications Officer for GATE Lebanon, RET’s local implementing partner

AKKAR, LEBANON – In Akkar, opportunity doesn’t come easily. Lebanon’s economic collapse has hollowed out livelihoods, pushed education out of reach, and left thousands of women and young people with skills the market no longer needs. For vulnerable Lebanese women, refugees, and youth in the region, the distance between potential and possibility can feel impossible to cross.

Bridging that gap is precisely what this project — funded by BMZ and implemented by RET Germany in partnership with GATE Lebanon — was built to do. Through market-driven vocational training, career coaching, and hands-on practice, it equips participants with skills employers actually want, and the confidence to use them.

A Community, Not Just a Curriculum

Halloum Moussa arrived at the digital marketing and content creation training with creativity to spare and a future still taking shape. What she found wasn’t just a curriculum — it was a cohort of women who shared her drive. Together, they learned product photography, visual storytelling, and content strategy, all shaped around real market demand. They didn’t just study the craft. They built a team.

The Assignment That Changed Everything

That team landed their first real client: blend.leb, a clothing shop that needed a full advertising campaign. Halloum and her colleagues delivered — professional product photography, branded content, and a complete social media package. One video, published on April 22 (Here), reached over 39,000 views. The shop owner was delighted. Foot traffic grew. The work spoke for itself.

For Halloum, it was more than a first job. It was confirmation — that her skills had market value, that her team could compete, and that she had something real to build on. Her story reflects what the project is designed to produce: training that translates directly into employment, and employment that opens into independence. In a region where so many doors stay shut, Halloum didn’t just find a way through — she helped her whole team walk through it together.

The project “Improving Food Security, Livelihoods, and the Inclusion of Women and Vulnerable Groups, and Promoting Gender Equality in North Lebanon,” funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany (BMZ)  and implemented by RET Germany in partnership with GATE Lebanon.

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