Thembalethu Development was established in 2002 as a nonprofit company/non-profit organisation to play a leading role in a collective endeavour to improve the living conditions and livelihoods of mining communities. The main aim of the organisation was to facilitate development in rural communities that provide labour to the mining industry.

Between 1998 and 2001 the mining industry, led by the Chamber of Mines, conducted a Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) in mineworker-sending areas of Eastern Cape, North West Province and Lesotho to determine the priority needs of these communities. Based on the PRA findings, it was decided that development assistance should consist of a combination of initiatives: to improve rural health, alleviate poverty and create improved employment and livelihood opportunities, and this led to the formation of THEMBALETHU Development.

Over the years, THEMBALETHU Development diversified its programmatic focus areas to allow for an integrated approach to community development with the aim of becoming the socioeconomic development agency of choice for the mining industry, government, the corporate private sector and international donors. We currently work in South Africa, Mozambique and Lesotho. The integrated approach ensured that interventions aimed at targeted communities and beneficiaries achieve results that are sustainable and can be replicated given a conducive environment.

The organisation identified development opportunities that rely on existing community initiatives or that built on the strengths of existing community structures. This approach has enabled the organisation to build sustainable capacity, especially when limited resources are available. An independent organisational assessment conducted by Management Science for Health (MSH) in 2014, confirmed that Thembalethu Development is a well-developed organization. Thembalethu Development is able to manage large grant sizes. To date we managed project funds more than R1 Billion