Finding Thabo early learning program

Finding Thabo is an early learning cognitive stimulation program focused on developing math, literacy, executive functions and socio emotional skills in young children aged 3-6. It is also used remedially for children aged 7-10 with developmental delays and learning challenges.

Finding Thabo has a 97% rating in active, play based learning from Education Alliance Finland (EAF). It was developed by The Reach Trust in partnership with psychologists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists from The Learning Initiative, and is DataDrive2030 approved. It can be taught in any language.

Finding Thabo is composed of a play based, interactive caregiver training program and printed and digital resources. Its aim is to address developmental delays in young children and to build school-ready brains. It is also designed to upskill and capacitate caregivers - including early learning practitioners and parents.

Printed resources include an activity guide for caregivers and a wordless, language-agnostic picture book of ten richly-illustrated scenes depicting the daily lives of an African family. The scenes are culturally relevant, aspirational, engaging and fun.

Each picture has 100s of cognitive stimulation activities that make up a full month of ECD learning. The ten pictures together make up one full year of Grade RR content fully aligned to the National Curriculum Framework for ECD across all six early learning development areas (ELDAs): 1. wellbeing, 2. identity and belonging, 3. communication, 4. exploring mathematics, 5. creativity and 5. knowledge & understanding of the world.

In addition, the program offers free access to a caregivers’ assessment app to track children’s progress and a WhatsApp bot with additional guided activities, stories and sounds.

The Finding Thabo program has been rolled out in over 10,000 ECD centres across South Africa in all 9 provinces and empowered over 13,000 ECD practitioners since launching in 2022. In 2025, it launched in Botswana.

The program has been adapted in 2026 to be used in home environments.