Our Story
Background
Helen Taylor Thompson (1924-2020) was instrumental in opening the first hospice in Europe for people with AIDS; at Mildmay mission hospital in London, where Princess Diana famously shook hands with patients.
On a trip to Mildmay’s clinics in Africa, Helen recalled:
“I met a lady who was tilling the ground with several children round her. She told me her husband was dead, and she was dying and her youngest child was also dead. However her three elder children were free from AIDS, but she was so worried as to what would happen when she died, as there was no one to care for them. All her family were dead as were her neighbours. She then pointed to a broken-down building and told me that that was her church and they would have cared for her children, but they too were all dead. “Please go back to the UK and tell them about us.”
Encouraged by friends, Helen developed the idea to use technology to provide simple education, in local languages, so that people could protect themselves and their families from disease.
2000
Charity first registered as Thare Machi The Starfish Initiative.
2001
First lessons commissioned, and first DVD player received (price £4,000)
2002
An early delivery model using “container classrooms” fitted with DVD players, is sent to India for trials.
2003
Official launch of the charity
2005
The first African container classroom is installed in South Africa
2007
Change of name to Thare Machi Education (TME). By this point, 20 different lesson topics are available and 11 countries have been reached.
2009
Lessons on Human Trafficking launched in South Africa, ahead of the 2010 football World Cup; a time when an increase in trafficking and exploitation is anticipated.
2011
HIV lessons added to the curriculum of all schools in Gauteng Province of South Africa – reaching over 2 million children.
2013
Online lessons launched on World AIDS Day, starting with 44 of our existing HIV lessons.
2014
TME responds to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa
2019 – January
Thare Machi Education becomes part of the Canopi Foundation, bringing together charities founded by Helen Taylor Thompson
2020
Thare Machi Education becomes Education Saves Lives . A new lesson is created in response to the Coronavirus pandemic.
2022
New version of lessons on USB enables scale up to reach more people, with more lessons, at a lower cost.
2024
New lessons on Dengue fever and Mpox are produced, bringing the number of lesson titles to 36.
We now have 36 different lesson scripts, each of which is available in up to 65 languages.
Our lessons have been seen by millions of people in countries throughout Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and South America.
