Themba Trust brings hope to South African students
“Themba” means “hope” in the language of the Zulu, the predominant tribe in South Africa served by the Themba Trust. The roots of the nonprofit, faith-based organization can be traced to early mission work by German Lutherans more than 100 years ago. Today, the foundation operates girls and boys residential high schools and other academic and youth development programs that serve the rural poor in South Africa. Themba, pronounced TEM-bah, indeed brings hope to a country of great poverty and limited education opportunities and where HIV/AIDS turns children into orphans.
U.S. jazz artist Erin Bode and her band traveled to South Africa in 2006 to record a CD with the Themba Girls choir. Together, they toured the U.S. promoting their CD and unique partnership in support of educational opportunities for underprivileged South African youth.
The “Themba Girls” who perform on a new CD with the Erin Bode Group are recent graduates of the residential high school in Dirkiesdorp, a village southeast of Johannesburg and the Themba Trust headquarters. Bode and her band visited the school as part of a fund-raising project sponsored by LCMS World Relief and Human Care.
Since 1989, LCMS World Relief and Human Care has provided a number of grants for Themba ministries. Sinethemba High School for boys opened in the mid-1980s to provide education opportunities in a caring, Christian environment. Siyathemba High School for girls began in 1995. The two schools serve a total of about 500 students. The Themba foundation also started a thriving preschool, which now operates independently, and a clinic that provides AIDS testing and counseling.
The Themba Girls with the Erin Bode Group CD benefits the Themba Trust, a nonprofit organization that ensures educational opportunities for South African youth like the student pictured here.
Themba depends on charitable support to operate the schools and other youth and community development programs. At the girls school, five students squeeze into a room about half the size of a typical U.S. dorm room. Bathrooms and showers are in a separate building.
The foundation covers the boarding and tuition costs of about a third of students at both high schools. Each year, Themba must raise at least $300,000 to cover their boarding and tuition costs for needy students.
Because of the tragic impact of HIV/AIDS, Themba also provides for a growing number of “unexpected beneficiaries.” When a student loses a parent to HIV/AIDS, the foundation arranges for financial assistance so the student can remain in school. Each year, about 10 percent of Themba’s families struggle with payments due the death of a family “breadwinner.”
Proceeds from the new CD will be used by the Themba Trust for scholarships for needy students at both high schools. The foundation also wants to start a music center to offer students vocal and instrumental training.