“finding thabo” is an interactive play-based game designed to stimulate key parts of the brain and build foundations for lifelong learning.

a solution for south africa’s education crisis

Donate $1 to sponsor a brain stimulation game and supercharge a young brain!

The Context 

With appalling education statistics, youth unemployment standing at 63% and escalating levels of crime, South Africa is experiencing an education crisis with far reaching implications – both economic and social - that cannot be ignored any longer.

A Solution

Stellenbosch-based non-profit The Reach Trust has developed an innovative solution that addresses the roots of the problem: Finding Thabo, a program focused on high quality brain stimulation that can be implemented in low resource environments.

It also focuses on long term behaviour change in parents and caregivers, so that they learn the value of stimulating their children all the time, and are given the tools to do so.

Why It Works

To understand the value and simplicity of our solution, let’s look at some facts about the brain and learning for a moment: 

• 90% of brain development happens before the age of 5

• Age 3 to 5 is the golden period for stimulation and strengthening of neural pathway in our children

• Those areas that have been stimulated grow thicker and process information faster

• Those connections that have not been stimulated die away in a process called pruning

• Well established neural connections form the foundation for a child's education and form the brain architecture that allows a child to achieve his or her full potential.

The Reality

The majority of children in South Africa do not receive quality stimulation before they reach school, the consequences of which are dire:

• 78% of our Grade 4 children cannot read for meaning

• 51% of our children do not reach matric in the normal time frame

• only 4% will have a degree

Play Is Key To Learning

Time and again, research shows that children learn best through play: it is way more powerful for children than many parents realise. Researchers and educators across the world have found that play can can help enrich learning and develop key skills such as enquiry, expression, experimentation, teamwork and bonding.
 
Finding Thabo uses an interactive play-based game that stimulates key parts of the brain, building foundations for lifelong learning, giving our youth the early stimulation they deserve and need in order to thrive. It also encourages and empowers parents and caregivers to engage with their children in a meaningful way, paving the way for a parent-child (or caregiver-child) relationship that can nurture the physical, emotional and social development of the child.