Netstar, a subsidiary of Altron, raised R129 000 for leading Deaf skills development organisation, eDeaf, during the annual Netstar Charity Golf Day held at Serengeti Estates (Kempton Park, Johannesburg) on the 3rd of September 2019.
From the left: Joey Rasdien, Jesse Kotze, Pierre Bruwer, and Boitumelo Matshoga
A second-time recipient of the funds, eDeaf used the 2018 donation to buy 42 laptops for their Durban IT lab training centre.
“At Netstar we believe in forming long-standing relationships with our customers and the communities in which we operate”, said Pierre Bruwer, Managing Director of Netstar. “We believe in eDeaf’s goal of removing perceived and physical barriers to entry into the marketplace due to an individual’s disability. This goal echoes Netstar’s value of promoting diversity and inclusion and we are proud to handover the cheque to eDeaf once again,” added Bruwer.
According to Nazareen Captieux-Bhana, CEO at eDeaf, the contribution made by companies such as Netstar go beyond the monetary value. Captieux-Bhana said, “The funds we are presented with do not only allow us to upgrade areas such as our IT Labs, they allow us to truly upliftment the South African Deaf community and help us educate society in not confusing disability with inability.”
Netstar currently employs 10 hearing-impaired people who operate within the company’s Fleet Intelligence division, a department that focuses on fleet management services which include intense video monitoring and surveillance.
“I joined Netstar in 2017 as part of the company’s Business Management Learnership Programme. Since then, I have become a permanent member of the Netstar Fleet Intelligence family” said Luleka Mtamo, Netstar Monitoring Agent. “My journey at Netstar has been amazing thus far. The company has created a deaf-friendly environment, and even hired a full-time Sign Language interpreter to bridge the communication gap between employees. This has made me feel like an important and valued member of Netstar,” explained Mtamo. “My advice to other hearing-impaired people is to work hard and believe in yourself. Anything is possible if you put in the required effort,” she concluded.
According to Bruwer, the value that these employees have delivered for Netstar customers is exemplary: “I would like to thank eDeaf for recommending high-calibre individuals to join the Netstar team. I would also like to thank our suppliers and partners for their contribution towards building on last year’s success and making the 2019 golf day just as rewarding.”