The Turkish provinces Şanlıurfa, Kilis, and Mardin, in southeast Turkiye, present a transit route for the Syrian refugees crossing the Syrian borders. Kilis hosts the highest concentration of refugee population compared to the total population. At the same time, Şanlıurfa is ranked 4th, and Mardin is ranked 7th among the top 10 provinces hosting the highest number of refugee concentrations.
Despite the cultural proximity between the refugee and host communities living in Şanlıurfa, Mardin, and Kilis, the demographic change has worsened both communities’ living conditions, increasing the risks for social tension. The women in these regions from the host and refugee communities struggle with barriers caused by traditional gender norms and lack of skills exacerbated by their limited education and livelihood opportunities. The situation is worse for refugee women, heightened by the language barrier, trauma, and losses caused by war and displacement.
Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)
The “Local Women’s Socio-Economic Empowerment and Social Skills Development for Social Cohesion and Youth Empowerment” project aims to support the empowerment of vulnerable refugee and local women aged 16-55 years by building their professional skills, which would allow them to generate income in the affected regions Şanlıurfa, Mardin, and Kilis. RET will deliver technical and vocational education and training (TVET) targeting refugee and host community women in the following fields: Natural Soap Making (in Mardin), Handmade Dolls Making (in Kilis), Block Printing and Natural Dyeing (in Mardin), and Local Food Production (in Şanlıurfa). While the women gain vocational skills, they can also generate income by selling the products online through the “Leap Natural” brand outlets.
The project will also raise awareness against gender-based violence (GBV) and sexual and reproductive health (SRH.)
Empowering Young People
The second objective of this project is to empower vulnerable young people (aged 12-25 years) from the refugee and host communities in Mardin by providing awareness-raising sessions on social cohesion, communication skills workshops, and music courses. Music, artistic engagement, and communication skills development are used as tools to increase social cohesion among the host and refugee adolescents and youth.
This project, implemented between January 2023 and December 2023, is implemented by RET, in partnership with LEAP in Turkiye.
