Dear Friends and Supporters of Raeduun for Sustainable Development (RSD),
As RSD’s acting director, I am honored to share a brief overview of our organizational accomplishments through more than a decade of work, as well as the team’s aspirations for the decades to come.
Since 2012, RSD has emerged as a leading national Yemeni Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), in a journey marked by resilience, dedication, and a relentless pursuit of sustainable development and multi-dimensional reconciliation in local communities. In the face of ongoing challenges and a dire humanitarian situation, our commitment to empowering Yemeni communities has not wavered. Throughout that journey, we have witnessed the remarkable strength and determination of the Yemeni people. The steadfast spirit of Yemenis like Fathia and her neighbors inspires us to continue working tirelessly to address their most urgent needs and create opportunities for a brighter future.
When our team first visited 55-year-old Fathia at her home in Taiz governorate, we found her bedridden and struggling to speak. Fathia’s husband works as a teacher at a school in Al-Mariqab village, earning a salary of 50,000 riyals. This is not enough to provide for the basic needs of their seven children, and like many Yemeni families, they have accumulated a lot of debt trying to make ends meet. As a result, they could no longer afford the medicine Fathia needs for her chronic heart condition—and without that medication, she experiences severe shortness of breath and disabling fatigue.
Fathia was very happy to receive the food basket we delivered to her family that day, but we could not rest knowing that she was in urgent need of the medication that could restore her to a normal life. RSD’s local team shared her situation with people in Al-Mariqab and also in some neighboring villages in Al-Ma’afir district, and other villagers contributed what they could towards the cost of her medication. Though the amount we collected was small, we were touched by the villagers’ generosity in the face of their own difficult circumstances. Then the team presented Fathia’s case to a merchant who covered the remaining amount needed to purchase her medicine. She was overwhelmed with happiness when we delivered it and told her about everyone who had contributed to getting her back on her feet. Fathia told us that we brought two joys to her heart: the joy of the food basket and the joy of her medicine. For me, Fathia’s double joy represents the thousands of stories that RSD has been a part of in which the big hearts of international partners, Yemeni neighbors and businessmen, and local teams beat together to help Yemen’s most vulnerable to breathe a little easier.
In collaboration with esteemed UN agencies, international NGOs, and RSD’s network of passionate volunteers, we have impacted nearly all of Yemen’s governorates with programming focused on improving literacy rates, promoting gender equality in education, fostering skills development for sustainable livelihoods, and otherwise ensuring that Yemenis have the resources they need to strengthen interdependent communities where everyone can prosper. I am immensely proud of our dedicated team, whose expertise and commitment have been the key to our strong delivery of both life-saving assistance and sustainable development programming. They have consistently gone above and beyond, often risking their own safety, to reach remote and conflict-affected communities. Their unwavering dedication is the backbone of RSD’s success.
Meanwhile, none of our achievements would have been possible without the invaluable support and generosity of our donors and partners. Your trust in RSD and your heartfelt contributions have enabled us to make a meaningful difference in the lives of thousands of Yemenis. We are deeply grateful for your faithful commitment to our cause.
Looking ahead, we remain resolute in our mission to strengthen interdependent communities where everyone can prosper physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. We will continue to prioritize initiatives that address the root causes of poverty, enhance access to quality education, ensure sustainable water resource management, and promote holistic well-being. Our focus will also extend to strengthening partnerships, fostering collaboration, and leveraging resources to maximize our impact. Together, we can create a ripple effect of positive change that reaches every corner of Yemen.
If this is your first introduction to RSD, I invite you to join us for the journey ahead as we continue working towards a shared vision for a peaceful and prosperous Yemen. Whether through financial contributions, volunteering, or raising awareness, you can make a significant difference in the lives of those that no one else is reaching.
I am honored to lead RSD in this critical period, and I am confident that through our collective efforts, we can build a future where every Yemeni community thrives. Let us unite our efforts, ignite hope, and create lasting change.
Thank you for your partnership and support.
Sincerely,
