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Themba Trust Means “Hope” in South Africa
“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.
The “Themba Girls” who perform on the new CD with Erin
Bode 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 provides facilities for a clinic that provides
AIDS testing and counseling.
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 the enrollment at both high schools. These
students come from extremely poor families. 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.
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