Catch Up with RET (December 2024)
Photo by RET
Welcome to the last edition of Catch Up with RET for 2024! Each month, we highlight our work around the world and how we’re making a difference on the lives of women, girls, and youth.
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Featured Photo
This month’s featured photo comes from our team in Niger, where’s we been active since 2021. The story behind the photo is available in French (original) and English:
La mentore et présidente de la société coopérative des femmes Soudji-Bangay de Namari N’Goungou lors d’un interview par RET, une des coopératives menant diverses activités génératrices de revenus (AGR), notamment l’achat, le stockage et la revente de céréales telles que le riz paddy, le sésame et le gombo. Ces activités collectives permettent d’accroître les fonds de roulement des coopératives. Après deux années d’opération, les membres peuvent accéder à des prêts individuels, allant de 30 000 FCFA à 50 000 FCFA (USD 48–USD 80), pour financer d’autres AGRs, comme la vente de condiments, de vêtements, de chaussures, de galettes, la restauration, ou encore la production et la vente de produits transformés, tels que des biscuits ou du chocolat.
Le remboursement des prêts se fait de manière échelonnée sur une période de 8 à 10 mois, offrant ainsi à d’autres membres la possibilité de bénéficier également de ces financements. Par ailleurs, les coopératives pratiquent l’épargne pour le changement (EPC), organisant des réunions hebdomadaires où chaque membre contribue à un fonds destiné aux activités génératrices de revenus.
Grâce à leur succès, le nombre d’adhérents ne cesse de croître, passant de 150 à la création des coopératives à 233 membres aujourd’hui.
The mentor and president of the Soudji-Bangay women’s cooperative society of Namari N’Goungou during an interview by RET, one of the cooperatives carrying out various income-generating activities (IGAs), including the purchase, storage and resale of cereals such as paddy rice, sesame and okra. These collective activities help increase the cooperatives’ working capital. After two years of operation, members can access individual loans, ranging from 30,000 FCFA to 50,000 FCFA (USD 48–USD 80), to finance other IGAs, such as the sale of condiments, clothing, shoes, pancakes, catering, or the production and sale of processed products, such as biscuits or chocolate.
The loans are repaid in installments over a period of 8 to 10 months, thus offering other members the opportunity to also benefit from this financing. In addition, the cooperatives practice Savings for Change (SFC), organizing weekly meetings where each member contributes to a fund for income-generating activities.
Thanks to their success, the number of members has continued to grow, from 150 when the cooperatives were created to 233 members today.
Impact Story
Latife, a 52-year-old woman of Chechen descent, once lived a peaceful life in Syria with her family. However, the outbreak of war in Syria forced her to move to Türkiye nine years ago, along with her sister and brother.
Latife shares her story in one of this past month’s impact stories, explaining how after arriving in Türkiye, “I attended a Turkish language course to express myself better and adapt to life here. But in our family, women weren’t allowed to work. So, I spent a long time not working, staying home most days. I felt an emptiness inside.”
But through support from one of RET’s programs, she found a way to better express herself and truly feel empowered. Click here to read her story.
Want to support women like Latife in Türkiye and around the world? Make a donation and support RET today.
In Brief
We’re on the ground in 14 countries. Here’s what we’ve been up to in just a few of them over the last month…
- On the 25th of November, along with the rest of the humanitarian community, we began our campaign for #16DaysOfActivism. Across the world, violence against women and girls impacts millions. Join us as we raise our voices and take action to eliminate gender-based violence (GBV). Follow for more.
- In the village of Nyamilima, North Kivu, we recently organized a community service project with a simple yet powerful goal: to bring people together. Residents from different neighborhoods joined hands to clear and reopen a pathway connecting two parts of the village, a small but important step in fostering unity. Read the story here.
- This month we marked the 35th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a day to remember the importance of guaranteeing the rights of all children.
- In Panama, and especially in the province of Darién and the Emberá-Wounaan region, this date acquires particular relevance due to the complex migratory situation that the region is going through. Read more on the situation.
- At RET, we’re committed to protecting vulnerable communities from sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA). Recently, we brought together 33 participants in Niger, including humanitarian partners, state actors, and colleagues from RET and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency for a vital training session on SEA prevention. Read the full story.
Longer Reads
Here’s a roundup of a couple articles that take a deeper dive into our work.
- On August 29th, the RET in Belize team and eight representatives of the Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Coalition headed toward the Machaca Outreach Center in the Toledo District for their annual strategic planning retreat for the CSO Coalition group. The Coalition’s governing body consists of a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson, and the Secretariat (RET Belize’s current role). This retreat was carried out under SAFE Belize, one of RET’s current projects funded by the U.S. Department of State. Objective 3 of the project outlines the formation of a coalition group of CSOs and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that consolidates anti-human trafficking efforts in Belize. Read the full article here.
- On October 16th, in celebration of World Food Day, RET International held a series of events at its community centers in Aksaray, Samsun, and Kayseri. For RET in Türkiye, World Food Day is closely tied to its mission of promoting healthy food practices, ensuring access to nutritious meals for vulnerable communities, and fostering social cohesion through inclusive and community-centered activities. Through the events organized at our centers, we aimed to raise awareness about the importance of nutrition, food safety, and collaboration between local and refugee communities, all while celebrating their diverse cultural backgrounds. Read more about the day here.
That’s it for this edition of Catch Up with RET, but before we close…
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