In rural South Africa, Thanda's programs offer a curriculum designed around character virtue that helps its students and its multigenerational community thrive.
Dr. Richard Lerner and Dr. Elizabeth Dowling from Tufts University’s Institute for Applied Research and Youth Development (IARYD) join this episode of Stories of Impact podcast to share findings from their study of how Thanda's After-School programs support character growth, reduce stress, and promote wellbeing in children facing adversity.
Key Takeaways:
In the Umzumbe Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Thanda (which means “to love,” in Zulu) seeks to promote thriving among children living in extreme poverty. With colorful buildings, gardens, and a skate park, Thanda's comprehensive youth and community program creates a joyful, nurturing space rooted in character and community.
Dr. Richard Lerner and Dr. Elizabeth Dowling from Tufts University’s Institute for Applied Research and Youth Development are conducting a multi‑year longitudinal study of the impact of Thanda’s After‑School programs on character virtue development and health. With support from Templeton World Charity Foundation, they’ve partnered with Thanda to examine how participation in these programs might lessen stress, improve health, and support thriving among children facing chronic adversity.
Thanda’s mission isn’t to just teach children, but to serve rural South African households and neighborhoods, and to engage with community members from infants through elderly adults. When Lerner and Dowling began to study Thanda, Lerner found the educators offered “unconditional support, holistic support, continuous support, engagement with the family and the community to create continuity between what was going on in Thanda and what was happening in their homes and neighborhoods. And that was unique to me, to be so positive, so enthusiastic, so committed."
Dowling agrees. Thanda is so exemplary, she says, she partnered with Lerner in order to explore “what goes right in the lives of the world's most vulnerable kids who are growing up in the most challenging of circumstances.”
“Thanda was a place of joy and hope in really one of the poorest and most marginalized places, even within South Africa... I had not encountered a place that was so enthusiastic about their mission and passion for really transforming lives in this positive way," shares Lerner.
Their research tracks individual development over time, focusing on wellbeing, agency, and growth in character virtues like generosity, curiosity, and belonging. Surveys were co-developed with local staff and adapted to reflect the community’s culture and language.
While the podcast highlights personal stories and impact, their study uses a robust mixed-method design. All youth in Thanda’s after-school programs are surveyed at multiple points to assess changes in character and health. A smaller group participates in weekly assessments over 15 weeks — including saliva samples to measure cortisol levels — capturing changes in stress biology and psychological development. (The study is underway, but findings have not yet been published.)
At the heart of Thanda’s mission is a deeply relational view of flourishing, inspired by the African philosophy of Ubuntu, which, as Lerner explains, translates roughly to "'I am because you are.' That mutually beneficial, mutually positive relationship dynamic, that is the ingredient for human thriving."
Thanda’s programs, ranging from early childhood learning and after-school activities to family support and community empowerment, are rooted in local culture and designed with community input. This includes gender empowerment groups, mentorship, mother–baby groups, and arts education informed by tribal history and identity.
“They have different aspects of their program... but the core across all of them is an investment in promoting character virtues in the lives of their kids," notes Dowling. The research confirms that this approach works: kids are not only doing better, they’re flourishing. “We saw that the kids in Thanda across time profited from all of the good things that Thanda had to offer," says Lerner.
While Thanda’s model is deeply specific to its community, the principles behind it, such as humility, cultural grounding, and community-led design, can be applied elsewhere. “You just can’t pick it up... But what can be generalized is the principles by which you built that place. That’s what can be exported, that’s what can be scaled,” Lerner says.
Thanda offers a powerful example of what’s possible when children grow up surrounded by people who know them, love them, and believe they matter. “They know the kid, they love the kid. The kid is given a sense that, I mean something to people. And that’s a great gift.”
Listen to the podcast with the player at the top of this page to hear more insights from the team.
Built upon the award-winning video series of the same name, Templeton World Charity Foundation’s “Stories of Impact” podcast features stories of new scientific research on human flourishing that translate discoveries into practical tools. Bringing a mix of curiosity, compassion, and creativity, journalist Richard Sergay and host Tavia Gilbert shine a spotlight on the human impact at the heart of cutting-edge social and scientific research projects supported by TWCF.
