Thusanani was established as a non profit organization in South Africa in 2002, after Occupational Therapists working in the Soweto area noticed that the number of developmentally delayed orphans they were treating exceeded the service being provided for them.

These children were showing typical signs of institutionalization due to the severe lack of stimulation in their environments. This included rocking back and forth, reduced muscle bulk from minimal activity and displaying apathy and a general lack of interest in their environment. The babies and toddlers also had very few toys, if any, to play with and nothing in their immediate surroundings to provide any stimulation. Staff shortages and insufficient training of care-workers also contributed to their delayed development and behavior. These babies and toddlers did not appear healthy, when in fact many of them were both physically and mentally functional and uninfected with HIV.

Most tragically, their behaviour was preventing them from being adopted as prospective parents saw them as being ill and weak.

Initially Thusanani was purely voluntary and the therapists worked out of their cars. In September 2006, after months of 'mobile offices', Thusanani found a home in the Children's Memorial Institute, (CMI) in Braamfontein. This was a very exciting development as it enabled us to set up an office base and a clinic setting where the babies and children could be assessed for adoption. This new base was also close to organizations that we work closely with such as Bigshoes Foundation and the Active Learning Libraries – Toy Library.

In April 2010, we moved to larger premises within CMI and we now occupy a ward of the old children's hospital. We now coordinate all our core functions from these offices allowing us to be more efficient and effective.