NHA in the Community

NHA partners with Khanya Technology in Education    13 February 2007

CBN website article

As part of their committed efforts to social community upliftment, Neil Harvey and Associates (NHA) has partnered with the Western Cape Education Department, The Khanya Project on a social corporate upliftment programme. Computer equipment has been donated to the project to empower schools in the province and to enhance the education experience by means of technology.

Khanya which means “to brighten or enlighten young lives”, is an initiative of the Western Cape Education Department. The project was launched in April 2001 and since then has won numerous international and national awards for assisting a third of all Schools in the Western Cape to obtain computer facilities. The aim of the organisation is to assist teachers and learners to increase their capacity of learning by the use of modern technology.

Khanya representative, Ingrid Graham, has welcomed the generous initiative from NHA. She stated as part of the drive by the province to make modern educational tools available, most schools in the Western Cape were already well equipped with computer laboratories. Ingrid is quoted as saying: “We rely on private sector partners such as NHA to help fill these laboratories and to fund the skills to maintain them and provide training.”

The desktop computers and printer equipment donated will be integrated into a computer centre at a local school. The notebook equipment is earmarked for utilisation by facilitators who need to travel with technology between schools.

NHA recognise that technology is an important tool in assisting underprivileged communities in bridging the digital divide. The company has previously donated equipment to four schools being; Levana Primary School in Lavender Hill, Zanemfundo Primary School in Philippi, St. James Primary School, Kalk Bay and the Ark at Airport Industria.

Further to the social responsibility programme, NHA provides a Skills Development Learnership Programme by partnering with IT Intellect. The Learnership Programme provides the practical experience necessary for students to obtain their NQF (National Qualifications Framework) Level 4 Systems Support Technician Certificate. Once the students have completed six months of their theoretical training at IT Intellect they join NHA for their six month practical training. At the end of their six month period at NHA they will qualify for their certification. Recently NHA welcomed one of the students, Lusanda Kahla, into the company.

The social responsibility programme at NHA is still new and relatively small, but NHA is committed in finding a way of making a contribution to the community and the people within that community. NHA CEO, Neil Harvey said: “As an employer of people in the ITC industry, we recognise our responsibility in ensuring a steady stream of available candidates.” He further stated career choices in the ITC sector are directly influenced by early and sustained access to technology.

NHA (Pty) Ltd is an independently owned South African company, with offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town. With over 130 staff nationwide, we offer a well-established link to a broad scope of skills and technologies. NHA is a complete ICT solutions provider for the Healthcare Funding and Administration Industry. The company was founded in 1986 by Neil Harvey specifically to address the IT requirements of this highly-specialised and dynamic industry.

Neil Harvey (CEO of NHA), Ingrid Graham (Khanya representative)
and Stephen Cruickshank (Business Unit Manager: Enhance)