For Wendy Cloete Louw, being connected did save a life.
Louw, 42, lives in Louw’s Creek, a beautiful rural dam on top of a mountain in Mpumalanga. In a community that relies heavily on cell phone towers that often aren’t reliable, Louw is the only person connected to satellite internet through MorClick. “The towers were down from Tuesday afternoon to Friday evening once,” She states in disappointment. “Nobody had any connection for days.”
For Louw, being disconnected is not an option. Working from home in a remote area means that she needs to be in constant contact with those around her and the world at large.
One afternoon, as she was feeding the animals she tends to, a frantic little boy in the area ran to her as she worked, asking for help because his mother couldn’t breathe. In a panic, Louw sent a message to her group chat informing the people living at the bottom of the mountain of the situation at hand, hoping the message would send. The trip down the mountain takes thirty minutes and even when the cell phone towers are working, messages often aren’t sent because of the poor signal.
To everybody’s relief, the MorClick Satellite Internet message was received. When the group finally reached the bottom of the mountain, people were already waiting with medicine and oxygen at hand for the woman in distress.
What was initially thought to be an asthma attack ended up being a case of acute anaphylactic shock. If not treated immediately, it can result in death or unconsciousness. With the help of the community, they were able to stabilise the woman before rushing her off to the hospital where she received treatment and recovered well.
When asked at what point she realised the importance of being connected via satellite, Louw said it was when she arrived at the bottom of the mountain. “I realised how crucial those few moments were,” She says. “I was the only person who had contact with the outside world in our community.”
Wendy is not the only person realising the importance of being connected in her community. Following the incident, the entire community is catching on and looking to connect to reliable satellite through MorClick. “Me being connected saved a life,” Louw concludes.
“Satellites serve as an important option to deliver broadband services to residences and businesses in rural and remote regions,” says Mohamed Hassim, Managing Director of MorClick Satellite Internet Solutions. “We are committed to seeing the connectivity gap closing to improve the lives of underserved communities”.
