Company invests in learners with special needs and opens special coffee shop in Secunda
Two deaf baristas have shares in The Groundery Connection.
Proconics, an engineering procurement and construction company, officially opened The Groundery Connection coffee shop in their reception area on February 2 as part of their community outreach programme.
What makes this coffee shop different from others is that it will be run and managed by two deaf young men.
This is the first coffee shop of its kind in Secunda.
The initiative of this coffee shop began a few years ago when Proconics’ management decided to reach out to two former learners with special needs and sent them to the I Love Coffee company through WeWork in Johannesburg where they received training to become baristas.
These learners, Thuso Mkwanazi from Marietjie School for Learners with Special Educational Needs, and James du Toit from De La Bad School in Worcester, are now partners in The Groundery Connection together with Nomvuselelo Myende, marketing intern at Proconics.
The group chief executive of Proconics, Melvin Jones, welcomed guests at the opening event and said the coffee shop was born after they asked themselves: ‘What can we do to bring change and make people’s lives better?’.
“Every business owes a duty to the community it supports, however, we went one step further by fulfilling that duty and transforming it into a concrete and long-lasting service that will not only help people today but also ensure a happy and prosperous future.”
Proconics also wants to create awareness of school leavers with special needs and show other companies in Secunda that it is possible to create job opportunities for such learners when they leave school.
Before guests ordered coffee, Myende showed them how to order different kinds of coffee using sign language.
There is also a sign board installed at the coffee corner, showing which signs to use to order coffee in case coffee lovers forget.
The principal of Marietjie School, Mariane Uckermann, thanked Proconics for this opportunity given to former learners with special needs. Residents are welcome to stop by for a cup of coffee at The Groundery Connection on Kiewiet Street.
