Themba Connect

This is the first Thembalitsha project in the underdeveloped and often marginalised communities of the Eastern Cape. The purpose of the centre is to equip and develop community members to improve their own lives and those of their community. We realised that there are many community members who are eager to grow, learn, and bring about change in their town. With guidance, resources, and training, we hope to see the Adelaide community members taking ownership of transforming their community by using existing local assets. This way of thinking and working with communities is known as asset based community development (ABCD).

The centre currently has a large training classroom, an IT lab, and a recycling collection room. We are running a number of workshops and training courses including business skills, financial training, ECD development, and IT courses. The possibilities of a centre like this are endless. The aim of the centre is not service delivery or providing hand-outs, but rather skills development, relationship building and empowerment. Great emphasis is placed on community buy-in and being inclusive of all, regardless of race, gender, age and religion, sustainability, and utilising existing community assets to help empower people to improve their own lives.