For Kashveera “Kash” Chanderjith, who is profoundly deaf, the world may be silent but her impact is loud.

Kash, risk partner for Property and Woolworths 360 at Woolworths Group, believes in taking the path less travelled because that’s where change happens. And that’s what she’s done her entire life.

Kash, who was born in South Africa, was diagnosed as profoundly deaf when she was four years old and her parents were told she’d never be able to speak. But, despite the prognosis, they taught their daughter how to speak. “I cannot hear things that most people take for granted – birds chirping or the waves crashing onto the shore,” says Kash. “I can’t even hear my mum’s voice. I can’t even hear my own voice!” 

Kash never learnt sign language but she can lip-read. “One of my proudest moments is being able to order bread at the shop when I was seven,” says Kash. “But the thing I’m most proud of is my voice.”

During her school years, Kash was called names and discriminated against due to her disability and being unable to lip-read new words or speak exactly like her peers. Despite these challenges, Kash went on to be the first profoundly deaf graduate at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and later became South Africa’s first profoundly deaf chartered accountant. 

Her life changed when, on a business trip to Australia in 2014, she experienced a moment of pure joy. “I went to a cinema and I could watch a movie for the first time with CaptiView,” she says. “The feeling of independence was indescribable. That was the main reason I moved here! I thought if public services were this good, private companies would be great too.”

Fast forward 10 years and Kash, who had one of the first same-sex weddings conducted with Hindu rites and rituals in Australia, lives each day by a saying her dad shared with her: ‘Always be the first-rate version of yourself and not the second-rate version of someone else.’ 

“I am a woman, married to a woman. I am a South African of Indian descent and above all, I have a disability that is so profound,” says Kash. “For me, it is really important to integrate all of these different parts of myself into one cohesive self that is unique. I think every person needs to celebrate that uniqueness.” 

Kash chose to work at Woolworths Group because “everyone aspires to do the right thing and live our company values”. 

“Woolworths Group is supportive of bringing your whole self to work and that makes me really proud,” she says. “You can’t be what you can’t see and I think Woolworths Group is really great at creating that sense of belonging.”

Now, Kash is using her voice to advocate for people with disabilities and, while we’ve come a long way, she says there’s still a way to go. “I’d love to see accessibility ingrained throughout organisations,” explains Kash, adding that because her disability is invisible, many people don’t realise she is deaf. “On my first day [at Woolworths Group], I couldn’t enter the office because I couldn’t hear the click of the revolving door and I was there until a team member helped me.

“We’re making Woolworths Group a safe place for team members to feel comfortable having disability-focused conversations through education,” says Kash. “We’re thinking about our facilities in a different light.” 

As a proud mother to a 14-year-old daughter, Kash champions authenticity, kindness and, of course, being courageous and taking the path less travelled. “If you can be authentically yourself, life is pretty good,” she smiles. “Your legacy isn’t your work, it’s how you make people feel.

“One of the most important things that makes us human is the need to reach out and to connect with other people,” says Kash. “If we lose that, we lose our humanity, and each and every day we should think about how we can help others – because together, we can be successful and make a difference.”

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