Cynthia Maqungu, a reservist firefighter from Vosloorus, has been awarded a K53 (code 2/light motor vehicle) driving sponsorship package.
Nine representatives from the 100-crew rescue team have also been awarded defensive driver training courses.
Maqungu, a single mother of two and resident of the Ramaphosa Informal Settlement, became a 2015 Centrum Guardians finalist after she saved three people from a shack fire in 2013.
Her ambition is to become an Intermediate Life Support Paramedic and, in order to progress in her career, she must have a valid driver’s licence.
The MasterDrive K53 training will give Maqungu safe fundamental driving skills, as taught in preparation for the K53 driver’s licence test.
In 2016, MasterDrive will send Maqungu to complete a diploma in Defensive Driving at the University of Johannesburg.
“We are extremely grateful to MasterDrive, as well as Centrum, for giving Cynthia this life-changing opportunity,” said William Ntladi, the spokesperson for Ekurhuleni Emergency Services.
The rescue team, another of the 2015 Centrum Guardians finalists, all worked tirelessly to save the lives of those trapped beneath tons of cement and steel at the scene of a structural collapse, in June 2014.
Nine members of this team will be selected to take part in defensive driver training.
The course consists of a lecture and a defensive in-car instruction module, with driver habit correction.
This includes a final evaluation of the driver’s capabilities post driver training.
The impact of this training is substantial: it has been proven to reduce vehicle maintenance, monthly fuel costs and near-crashes and crashes.
Natasha Macdonald, senior brand manager for Centrum, said: “We thank MasterDrive for their invaluable sponsorship. This contributes to the legacy of the specialised training secured by Centrum Guardians for finalists and other emergency and rescue personnel over the past eight years.”
Centrum Guardian finalist: Meet a brave fire-fighter
