Mardin — Halime, who serves as the atelier supervisor of the sewing atelier at Leap Women’s Initiative, Production, and Business Cooperative, also works directly with women as a field worker on the “Community-Based Protection and Empowerment for Women and Youth” project, implemented by RET International and LEAP Türkiye in Mardin and Kilis.
Having taught history and geography at middle school level in Syria for many years, Halime began training at LEAP Türkiye’s soap production atelier a few years after arriving in Türkiye. Gaining experience across different production processes over time, she today carries the responsibility of running the sewing atelier while also contributing to women’s empowerment in the field, informing them about their rights, the support mechanisms in place, and the services available to them.
Starting Again in Mardin
While teaching in Syria, Halime was also continuing her law studies at university. In 2010 she fought a serious illness, and in 2011, just two days before her birthday, she received the news that she had made a full recovery. Shortly afterwards she lost her mother, and joined her sister and relatives who had settled in Mardin during the early years of the war.
Her first years in Mardin were particularly difficult. “During my first years in Mardin, I was in a very dark place emotionally. I had lost my mother and been forced to leave my country because of the war. For two or three years, I barely left the house,” Halime says, adding: “But over time, a person learns to get back on their feet.” Determined to rebuild her life, Halime enrolled in the Sociology Department at Mardin Artuklu University to continue her education, with a clear purpose: to be able to keep working. She graduated and received her diploma in the summer of 2021.
From Soap Production to Supervising the Sewing Workshop
Deciding to look for work so that she could fund her university education herself, Halime heard about the production ateliers of RET International and LEAP through a relative, and went and knocked on the atelier door. She still remembers that first day very clearly: “From the moment I met the women at the atelier, a warm bond formed between us, and they welcomed me with real sincerity. I never told anyone this at the time, but it was the first warmth of that kind I had felt from anyone outside my family since arriving in Mardin.”
Halime’s journey in the ateliers began with soap production; she then developed her skills in contours and patterns, working in the natural block-printing atelier and taking part in quality control processes. In 2020, that journey took on a new dimension with the establishment of Leap Women’s Initiative, Production, and Business Cooperative together with the women she had been producing alongside. She later moved to the sewing atelier, and today serves as its supervisor. “Throughout this journey, I had the chance to learn and apply almost every stage of production,” Halime says. “Having knowledge and experience across all these areas today is very valuable to me, both for my professional growth and for my own confidence.”
Halime’s workday begins with opening the atelier. She plans production, organizes the distribution of tasks, keeps track of stock, and — together with her colleagues — manages the entire process behind each order, from design to cutting, and from sewing through to quality control, packaging, and shipping. When new products are requested, she prepares the sample work and makes sure production moves forward at the planned quality standards.
The greatest responsibility of this role is being able to follow every stage of production closely and at the same time. “Sewing is a craft that demands real skill, and one where the margin for error has to be very small. Even the smallest mistake in the design, the cutting, or how the measurements are applied can affect the entire production process,” Halime says. Although the pace of work picks up during busy and urgent order periods, she manages the process by working to a plan, setting the right priorities, and maintaining strong communication within the team.
Today, Halime works as a team leader in the very atelier whose door she knocked on years ago to cover her education expenses. She does not only coordinate production; she also contributes to the professional development of new colleagues by sharing her experience with them. Drawing on the strength she takes from her own life, she believes that women can grow stronger both economically and socially once they gain access to the right opportunities.
Direct Contact with Women in the Field
Alongside her role at the Cooperative, Halime takes an active part in the field activities of the “Community-Based Protection and Empowerment for Women and Youth” project. She holds one-on-one meetings with women from refugee and host communities in Mardin, informing them about the project’s activities, their rights, and the support mechanisms they can benefit from. She also supports the planning and delivery of awareness sessions, community dialogues, and Community Mothers Trainings for women. The aim of these trainings is not only for women to gain access to information, but also for them to pass on what they have learned within their own circles and reach other women.
“I take care to create an environment where women feel comfortable and safe, and can speak without fear of judgment,” Halime says. “Our goal is to build lasting, community-based support networks in Mardin and Kilis that strengthen the rights, safety, and resilience of women and youth.”
“Everyone Who Falls Will One Day Rise Again”
Halime says one of the most valuable aspects of her role at the atelier is contributing to the economic empowerment of the women she works alongside: “Producing together and seeing them receive fair value for their labor is a huge source of motivation for me.” The work in the field, she says, carries a far more personal meaning for her. “I was once a woman who had just arrived in Mardin, who was trying to stand on her own. Today, I see something of myself in the stories of many of the women I meet in the field,” she says. “Watching a woman leave a training or a conversation saying, ‘now I know what to do,’ and feeling that I’ve been able to touch her life in some small way, is a source of happiness I couldn’t measure against anything else.”
Halime has long had an idea for a book on psychology; she had to pause the project because of her workload, but hopes to complete it in the future. Looking back on the past decade, she sums up the lesson she has taken from it: “Falling down gives you strength. Every time I fell, I learned to rise again. Everyone who falls will one day rise back up — as long as they don’t lose hope, because no bad day lasts forever.”
The “Community-Based Protection and Empowerment for Women and Youth” project is implemented by RET International and LEAP Türkiye from January to December 2026, across Mardin and Kilis in Türkiye and Aleppo in Syria. Leap Women’s Initiative, Production, and Business Cooperative was established as part of RET International Türkiye and LEAP Türkiye’s activities for women’s empowerment, and carries out its production under the Leap Natural brand.