The Association Humaniste d’Entraide et d’Action Sociale (The Humanist Association for Caring and Social Action, AHEAS) was founded in 2003, becoming a national NGO in 2011. A young people's organisation, it works on socio-cultural development and building respect for human values. It was in this context that in 2010 it launched a Programme of Chadian Volunteers for Development.

AHEAS's mission is to support access to employment and self-employment, as well as strengthening the capacity of local young people's structures working on development and peacebuilding in Chad.

It's vision is to make volunteering a tool in peacebuilding and development. AHEAS works to create spaces for exchange and reflection by young people, in order to help them contribute to the development of their country.

AHEAS's peacebuilding work has included:

• Organising three annual national weeks of democracy;
• Organising talks and debates in schools and institutes, in the capital and five main towns, on themes linked to peaceful cohabitation;
• Running an awareness-raising project on the carrying of small arms and knives in the 7th arrondisement in 2014, financed by USAID;
• In partnership with USAID, establishing a mobile cinema project through which a peace caravan helps to raise awareness with women and young people on peacebuilding and social cohesion issues;
• Since 2014, working with Unicef and ACF to manage the 'Children/Friends Space' for Central African refugees at the Zafai (Gaoui) camp north of N'Djamena. It is responsible for the management of the primary school opened as part of this.

Since 2011, creating and managing a general teaching school called the Lycée Collège les Volontaires, or School for Volunteers, through which moral values and peace messages are taught to pupils.

Learn more about AHEAS' work creating a national volunteering network at http://www.volontariatautchad.org/