Thanda's largest and newest project is Thanda After-School- a program that empowers students to break their cycle of poverty and HIV/AIDS. Thanda After-School encourages students to think creatively about their futures and gives them the skills necessary to be successful. For more information, please go to the Thanda After-School Project site.

Thanda has also recently launched a jewelry company, Tanda Zulu. Handmade by women in an income generation project in South Africa, the beaded jewelry has become an effective method of fundraising for Thanda's various programs. Tanda Zulu has been able to propel Thanda towards its goal of supporting and empowering orphans of AIDS, while also supporting otherwise unemployed women and their families in South Africa

Thanda Staff

Angela Larkan - Executive Director Angela Larkan graduated from Wesleyan University in December 2005 with a degree from the College of Social Studies. Originally from South Africa, she witnessed the poverty experienced by many young South Africans while growing up. She began researching models of care for orphans of AIDS in 2003, after which she co-founded Thembanathi to raise funds and awareness for children in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In 2007 Angela established Thanda as a separate organization to support both Holy Cross and the Thanda After-School Project. She has continued to research the issue of care for orphans of AIDS and create awareness of the problems in South Africa. Her current projects include Tanda Zulu jewelry and working on the After-School Project's model and fundraising.

Maya Casagrande - Managing Director Maya Casagrande graduated in 2005 with a BA from Colorado College. During the summer of 2005, she joined Thanda on their trip to South Africa. Maya was the organization's photographer and helped run the holiday camp at Holy Cross's preschool. In addition to creating Thanda's initial website, Maya has become actively involved in their activities. She is now co-director of the Tanda Zulu jewelry business and program developer for the After-School Project. Maya will return to South Africa with the organization when the new project begins in January 2008.

Jonathan Leland - Technology Director Jonathan Leland graduated from Wesleyan University in 2005 with a BA in Psychology. He joined Thanda in the fall of 2005, and now functions as the Director of Technology Education and Webmaster. He created the websites for both Thanda and Tanda Zulu and is working on a computer education curriculum for the Thanda After-School Project. He will visit South Africa for the first time to help initiate the After-School Project next year.

Tyler Howard - Thanda ASP Program Director Tyler Howard graduated from Colorado College in 2005 with a degree in Comparative Literature. His work with Thanda began in 2005 when he helped to plan and implement a holiday camp for orphans of AIDS and other vulnerable children at Holy Cross in South Africa. He has been fundraising, researching, and designing programs for Thanda since then and helped to find the site for the Thanda After-School Project in 2006. He will move to KwaZulu-Natal for 2 years in 2008 to help establish the Thanda After-School Project.

Holly Buchanan - Thanda ASP Art Program Director Holly Buchanan studied Art and Anthropology at Ithaca College in upstate New York. She now lives and works in Portland, Oregon. During the spring of 2007, Holly traveled to Bhutan and India studying Tibetan and Bhutanese cultures. While abroad she researched and worked on community development in high-risk populations concentrating on women's health. Holly will be joining Thanda ASP in January 2008 as a coordinator for the visual arts program.

Shannon Sodano - Fundraiser Shannon Sodano attended High School at the American Community School in Cobham, England, and made her first trip to Africa with Angela Larkan on a group trip to tour and teach in Namibia, in 2000. She graduated from NYU with a bachelor's degree in Nutrition and Dietetics and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. Shannon has her own business with Arbonne International, exposing people to herbally and botanically based skin care an nutrition products as well as a way to work for themselves and on their own time. With her diverse connections and flexible schedule, she started selling pins and next jewelry for Tanda Zulu in 2004. She continues to pass jewelry on to those in NY, NJ, PA, Singapore and the UK while helping with event planning, promotion, and recruiting new group members.

Amy and daughter Sarah, and Nancy and daughter Emily, learned about Thanda from Jesse Brenner, a classmate of Angela Larkan's from Wesleyan University. Amy, Sarah, Nancy and Emily traveled to Ginginlovou, South Africa last August and lived and worked at the Holy Cross Hospice for several weeks. The experience with Sister Priscilla Damiani, the dedicated pre school teachers, and the beautiful children of the Creche inspired the Brenners and the Foxes to do much more to help raise funds for the Holy Cross Hospice. Anyone interested in purchasing jewelry in the Philadelphia area should please contact Amy or Nancy at asb263@comcast.net or astorfox@aol.com.

Amy Brenner - Fundraiser Amy Brenner graduated from Northwestern University in 1972 and the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 1977. She has been a veterinarian in the Wayne, PA area for 29 years. She began selling Tanda Zulu jewelry in her town a year ago and has managed to raise a lot of money for Holy Cross Preschool so far.

Sarah Brenner - Thanda ASP Youth Education Program Coordinator/Fundraiser Sarah Brenner is a recent graduate from Ithaca College with a degree in Sociology. Currently, she is working as a first grade teacher's aide at the Gesu School in Philadelphia, providing youth from some of the most difficult family and economic situations in the city with academic and social support in preparation to earn a high school diploma and hopes for further education. For the past two years, Sarah has been fundraising for Thanda through selling Tanda Zulu jewelry and raising awareness about HIV/AIDS in her school and home community. In the summer of 2006, Sarah visited the Bishop Mansuett Biyase Preschool in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, a school supported with help from Thanda.

Nancy Astor Fox - Fundraiser Nancy Astor Fox graduated from Harvard University in 1984 with a degree in Psychology She is associate director of the Gerda and Kurt Klein Foundation which promotes tolerance education. Nancy sells jewelry by hosting events in her area and she is deeply committed to helping the children at Holy Cross Preschool.

Emily Fox - Fundraiser Emily Fox is a senior at Lower Merion high school in Ardmore,PA. She is currently participating in the Penn Music Mentoring Program at the University of Pennsylvania and has created an organization called Heart and Soul that collects and distributes musical instruments to children who are unable to purchase their own.