The Themba Development Project, founded in 2008, is a Canadian registered Non-Profit Organization (NGO) which works in a variety of communities in South Africa. The core programs of the organization are targeted at improving basic living conditions for the poorest residents of South Africa.
South African programs include:
The Themba Development Project was founded in 2008 when its founder, Catherine Robar viewed the substandard living conditions of the people living in Thembalethu, an informal settlement near the city of George in the Western Cape Province. Thembalethu means “Place of Hope” in the Xhosa language and is the current home to the organization's co-founder Gcinisizwe Noyakaza, a member of the Xhosa tribe. The organization is directed by a Canadian Board of Directors however programs are created with the input of the communities in which the development work is targeted. In addition to food insecurity, Thembalethu was named in 2010 as having the highest unemployment rate in South Africa with approximately 80% of its residents unable to find work.
In 2010 the organization expanded its programs to include the former Transkei region of South Africa, birth region of former president Nelson Mandela. The Themba Development Project began work in Nqiningana, a tiny village near Lady Frere and Queenstown in the Eastern Cape Province. Nqiningana struggles with a severe lack of rainfall, high unemployment, HIV and Tuberculosis.
Although the organization started very modestly, it has received significant media attention due to the many humanitarian award nominations received by its Founding Director, Catherine Robar. These nominations include: