Amal Women's Training Center and Moroccan Restaurant

Amal Women's Training Center and Moroccan Restaurant (Arabic: جمعية الامل لفنون الطبخ; French: Association Amal pour les Arts culinaires en faveur des femmes nécessiteuses) is a non-profit organization in Marrakesh, Morocco, that helps disadvantaged women gain work experience by training them in the preparation of Moroccan food and international food.

[3][4] Nora Belahcen Fitzgerald first conceived the idea of creating an organization to help Morocco's underprivileged women through career training in 2006 after meeting a single mother begging on the street who lived on 20–30 dirhams per day (about €2.70, $3.40 in 2006).

[5][6] Belahcen Fitzgerald was inspired by the Association Solidarité Féminine, which helps single mothers overcome poverty and social stigma by providing them with shelter, counselling, and vocational training.

[8] In 2012 Belahcen Fitzgerald found a property to rent and registered Amal Women's Training Center and Moroccan Restaurant as a non-profit organization.

[18][19] Participants are selected through partnerships with other non-profits or by the center's social worker, based on the criteria that they are economically disadvantaged and are motivated to train to achieve financial independence.

[5] They are provided with two meals a day, a transportation stipend, life-skills coaching, individual and group therapy, and a bonus upon successful completion of the program.

In partnership with Search for Common Ground, the center educates the trainees on subjects such as life planning, empowerment, Nonviolent Communication, and reproductive health.

[5] Belahcen Fitzgerald has stated the desire to train additional women by opening a separate catering service that would make lunches for school children.

A banner with the center's logo hanging next to 2 large wooden doors that open to the restaurant's courtyard
Entrance to Amal Women's Training Center and Moroccan Restaurant
Trainees serving customers who are seated outside under umbrellas
Outdoor seating on the restaurant's terrace
3 trainees dressed in white, cooking with the restaurant's chef who is dressed in black. A young volunteer is taking the food to serve to customers.
Trainees and volunteers preparing lunch with the culinary teacher in the center's kitchen