About us

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A.F.E helps adolescent mothers

The adolescent mothers, because of their pregnancy out of wedlock, are most of the time put aside by their families.

Unable to provide for themselves and their unborn child, the A.F.E provides medical and psychological support until delivery: consultations, prescriptions, analyses, psychosocial assistance, social mediation with the family.

• Preventative work with girls that finish school prematurely or have never been to school
• Determination of the pregnancy circumstances
• Emergency dormitory for girls
• Orientation and help with vocational training for adolescent mothers

The A.F.E to help children

The association has a team of social workers in charge of monitoring street children (runaway children, talibés, etc.). It is a centre with a reception as well as listening, observation and orientation facilities.

The recepients:

• The children of adolescent mothers or orphans
• Children whose parents’ situation is very precarious (parents with disabilities, blind or in prison)
• Girls that finished school prematurely or have never been to school
• Children separated from their parents and/or not of Senegalese origin

The A.F.E has a nursery school and an elementary school. Each year, the association welcomes about 40% of the children of adolescent mothers who, because of lack of clear family situation or unknown father, do not have the possibility of attending a public school.

This approach of the A.F.E to integrate children of adolescent mothers among other children avoids any form of discrimination at early stages.

The A.F.E and his other missions

• Search for sponsors. Sponsoring a child means offering him/her the chance to succeed in school, to find a stable job and thus to ensure his/her future and that of his/her future family.
• Sexual education for adolescents
• Information on family planning (contraception, etc.)
• Standing up for children’s rights
• Activities to improve one’s living environment
• Raising awareness about the preservation of the environment
• Education on the effects of climate change

Our facilities

The social center & kindergarten

It is the central place of A.F.E. On the 1st floor there are the offices of the administrative staff. The initial interviews with people seeking help at A.F.E take place in this building. It is a place of social meetings and listening for all people in need. The talks are led by Maodo Diagne, one of the leaders and founding fathers of the organization.

On the ground floor there is the nursery school (small and medium section). For the 2020/2021 season, it consisted of 42 girls and 22 boys (small, medium and large sections).

The elementary school

The elementary school currently has 8 classrooms. The 2nd floor of the building is currently under construction, with the aim of eventually accommodating vocational training for girl-mothers.

The school complex is called Béatrice Rochet. For the 2024/2025 season, the elementary school (CE1/CE2, CM1/CM2) had 71 girls and 54 boys.

The library and games room

It is a place designed and arranged to welcome all pupils and give them a taste for reading, the desire to discover, share and play educational games.
The main objective of this space is to transmit the pleasure of learning and attending school. The students usually come here once a week to work, listen to a story, borrow a book, play educational games or even watch a documentary film.

The emergency and volunteer dormitory

The dormitory is a building rented by the A.F.E, which has 6 rooms, to accommodate women and children in emergency situations. It is also used to house the volunteers who come to help the association.

The place is temporarily used as a vocational training place for the teenage-mothers while waiting for the construction of the second floor of the school, and has a classroom as a complement for the kindergarten. A large central space, the courtyard, is often used to organize activities with the children of the center.

Training

Training for teenage-mothers within the A.F.E

They have access to professional training in sewing, hairdressing or the making juice from fruit and vegetables. But they also have the possibility of training elsewhere in other structures according to the possibilities of A.F.E to accompany them.

Moreover, literacy is essential for these adolescent mothers, which is why A.F.E places particular emphasis on this training.

A.F.E has a project to create professional training courses over 3 years.

Some figures

The A.F.E in a few figures (July 2021)

Statistical report between 2007 and 2017