Campaign Story

Thanda are a community-based organisation that provides innovative solutions for sustainable development. They aim to create safer, stronger communities by providing educational and skills-building opportunities to individuals and their households. In the long-term, Thanda envisions a thriving rural population that supports the holistic development of children, their households, and communities as a whole.

Thanda school in rural KwaZulu-Natal was established in 2008 to provide support for children through after-school programming. The model made use of existing resources within the community –unemployed youth were hired and trained to become After-school Facilitators and empty classrooms at local schools were used to host after-school sessions.

Today, they offer four core initiatives:

1) Early Learning;

2) Education;

3) Organic Farming; and

4) Creative Learning Training.

Through these four core programmes Thanda aims to inspire good neighbours, good citizens, and the next generation of resilient, confident young adults who contribute to a better world.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, programmes wer modified so that learning would not be interrupted. Some of these modifications are no longer necessary as it has now been safe to resume in-person learning. Other modifications, including Home Visiting work with households, have remained intact.