CEMZA – has chosen Riaan Manser as the face of their brand to take on the #CemzaManChallenge, journeying from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town tackling various adventure challenges suggested by the public with a 50kg bag of cement being part of every step of the journey.
Western Cape, South Africa (28 February 2020) – Riaan Manser is no stranger to pushing the boundaries of his comfort zone.
With five world firsts and 2 Guinness World Records, he is undoubtedly in a league of his own.
Over the past decade, Manser has re-written the definition of tenacity & become the epitome of courage & determination. The passionate South African rose to prominence on becoming the first person to cycle around the perimeter of Africa and had gone on to the wildest expositions from circumnavigating Madagascar to kayaking from Africa to New York.
It, therefore, comes as no surprise that South African cement producer – CEMZA – has chosen Manser as the face of their brand to take on the #CemzaManChallenge – journeying from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town tackling various adventure challenges suggested by the public with a 50kg bag of cement being part of every step of the journey.
Manser duly accepted the challenge and CEMZA agreed to donate R150 000 to The Sunflower Fund, for whom the brave explorer is an ambassador.
The Sunflower Fund helps patients fighting blood diseases by trying to find their life-saving match for a stem cell transplant.
“It costs us R3100 per DNA test per donor that we recruit,” says Alana James CEO of The Sunflower Fund.
“Partnerships like this one with Riaan and CEMZA are incredible because it funds the work we do and creates further awareness about our cause,” James continued.
“There is an ocean between saying and doing, but when you’re motivated by a cause that you believe in, every bit of pain and discomfort is worth it,” says Manser.
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“Patients battling blood diseases often find themselves confined to isolation wards for long periods of time, so being able to use the outdoors and the freedom of movement to raise money in support of their fight and raise awareness about the need for blood stem cell donors is humbling,” continued Manser.
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The journey ends on Saturday 29 February at Sea Point with a Paraglide off Table Mountain.
“As Cape Town Tourism we are proud to support Riaan in his efforts for The Sunflower Fund, a truly wonderful organisation doing amazing work. Riaan has a long-standing relationship with us, and it’s wonderful seeing him taking on this challenge with the final leg happening in our city. It may be our natural wonders and beauty that entice people to make their first visit to Cape Town. Still, it’s our sense of adventure and warmth of our people which makes them return time and time again, which is why it makes sense for us to support this initiative,” says Cape Town Tourism CEO, Enver Duminy.
Upon completion of the challenge and the safe return of the bag of cement, The Sunflower Fund’s Alana James will take receipt of a cheque presented by CEMZA.
“We thought this collaboration with Riaan, a tough and Proudly South African figure, was a perfect synchronicity and great way to show how much good we can achieve as a team. The fact that our brand is making a difference to people with blood diseases and helping to save lives is an incredible outcome that we are immensely proud of,” says Tushar Agrawal, Group Managing Director from CEMZA.
Individuals between the ages of 18 and 45 years can register as stem cell donors. If you are in good health, consistently weigh more than 50kgs and have a BMI of less than 40 you could be eligible to become a donor.
For more information about becoming a stem cell donor or making a donation to The Sunflower Fund, visit www.sunflowerfund.org or call 0800 12 10 82.
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