In poverty-stricken Senegal, one of the poorest countries in the world, nearly half of the population is younger than 15 years old. Education is vital for the future of the country and its people. 

In a country which has few resources, the population lacks the ability to quickly improve their own circumstances. Instead there is a strong migration of the villages to the closest city. Entire villages are running empty, and the urban slums grow. The daily work of the parents does not provide enough to sustain the family. Child labor is not a choice but a necessity.

Many parents are too poor and can not pay tuition. And who goes to school is no longer available at home to help and contribute to the households' income. This is pernicious, because it closes the road to a better future. The son has to enter in the footsteps of the father, the daughter follows the pattern of the mother. Poverty propagates.

ACAPES aims to school young people so they can fully participate in society and contribute to the social upheaval which Senegal is going through. Part of the program is reading, writing and arithmetics, but also aspects of everyday life which are not discussed in mainstream education are given in a place in the ACAPES training: health, AIDS prevention, care for the environment, knowledge of childrens' and human rights, conflict prevention, female leadership, social communication, lessons in violenceprevention, family planning and state law are included in the curriculum.