Association SolidaritÉ FÉminine

CASABLANCA, MORROCO

Aïcha Ech Channa is the founder and president of Solidarité Féminine, which works in Casablanca, Morocco to help unmarried mothers gain the knowledge and skills necessary to ensure their own livelihoods.

The goal of Solidarité Féminine is to allow single women to keep their babies and to promote the rights of the mother and child. The association opened a canteen where women work, learn skills, make money and take literacy classes. Programs also include vocational instruction, access to medical services, psychological counseling, legal assistance and day care. Solidarité Féminine is committed to job creation. The organization operates two restaurants, four kiosks, a fitness center and more.

Ech Channa gains inspiration from a sense of justice rooted in all religions. She believes single mothers have been marginalized and stigmatized in Moroccan society and hopes to see a better future for them.