You read that right! Amalna Maroc (the nonprofit formed by Audrey Huetteman) is happy to announce that we received our approval letter from the IRS. We are now OFFICIALLY a 501c(3) nonprofit!!!
What does that mean? That means we can accept donations of any size, small or large, and your donation is tax deductible.
How do you donate? You can go to the Amalna Maroc donation page HERE to donate. We are hoping to raise $10,000 USD. Small or large, all your donations will go a long way to getting Amalna Maroc launched.
What is your money going towards? Your money will be going to fund living expenses for the year (food and lodging but no salary) for Audrey Huetteman (our Executive Director), along with pay for two local women who will be helping Audrey implement her project in Morocco. Learn more below.
Audrey’s Update from Morocco:
The Fabulous 5: I’ve been in Morocco for two months now, picking up right where I left off, spending my days with the sewing cooperative that I helped start back when I was a Peace Corps volunteer. I like to call them “The Fabulous 5.” It’s been inspiring to see these five women go from learning how to sew (4 years ago) to running the sewing cooperative business here in the village. These five women make the cooperative a beehive of activity. I love watching the ladies laugh, goof around with each other and their customers, and debating over the best jlaba designs. (A jlaba is a long hoodie robe commonly worn by women and sometimes men). These 5 ladies have come a long way since the last time I saw them.
Our Project: In Morocco, women’s participation rate in the labor force is one of the lowest in the world. The sewing cooperative in my village is one of many cooperatives working and struggling to better the lives of Moroccan women. To be successful, women participating in these cooperatives need to learn many business skills as well as how to work together in partnership, and how to juggle the many demands on their time from home life and work life.
The initial project of Amalna Maroc will closely study several women cooperatives to answer several questions. What are the top challenges facing these businesses? Where are cooperatives finding success and why? How do the women participants balance their long, long list of household chores on top of their work at the cooperatives? Are the women feeling empowered by this work, or is it another burden in their day? With this information we can develop strategies to effectively support women and cooperatives at multiple locations. I’ve been working with my Moroccan team to get ready to launch our work. We are excited and ready to get to work in December!
Covid: Many of you may be wondering how it is going with Covid here in Morocco. I am very lucky that Morocco has a high vaccination rate. In fact, Morocco has higher vaccination rates than the US. However, with the emergence of the Omicron variant Morocco has closed its borders/flights for the next two weeks. I am still working on the very slow process of getting residency. Unfortunately, my visa will expire near the end of January and with this new variant and borders closing, it’s looking like it is going to be trickier to renew my visa than I had expected. But as my Moroccan sister, Fatiha, says “kan Allah mak” (God is with you so everything will be ok).
About Amalna Maroc: Amalna means “Our Hope” in Arabic. Our hope is to advance women’s development in Morocco. A primary focus of Amalna Marocis to work with women’s cooperatives in Morocco, especially in rural areas, by providing education, resources and support that increase empowerment and economic opportunity for Moroccan women and girls.
Visit our website at https://www.amalnamaroc.org/ or contact Amalna Maroc at amalnamaroc@gmail.com
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