35-year-old Winston Fani dreams of becoming South Africa’s first blind tour guide but he needs a helping hand to make that dream a reality.
Cape Town, South Africa (12 December 2022) – Winston Fani has big dreams and he doesn’t want his sight to be the reason he misses out. Tania Robbertze, a close friend of Winston and his wife Busi, can see his determination and decided to launch a crowdfund to cover the cost of his exams.
Winston lost his sight at the age of 12 after being diagnosed with glaucoma, a progressive eye disease. He never let his loss of sight bring him down and remained the chatty hopeful young man well into his 20s and 30s. Now at 35, after losing his job to Covid-19, he has a new and exciting dream in mind – to be South Africa’s first blind tour guide.
Tania first met Winston when she started working with Busi, his wife. Tania was involved in training Busi’s guide dog, Gladys. She became close with the couple and has wanted to help Winston, who has struggled to find a job since his pandemic retrenchment.
“Winston has searched long and hard but has had all doors closed to him for work. He is a personable, chatty, gentle and connected man who has a dream to become the first blind tour guide in South Africa. This is a career that will suit Winston. He has a passion for history and education and can connect very well with people he meets. He cannot move into this career without completing his tour guide certificate.”
After hearing Tania’s wish for her friend, Enver Duminy, the CEO of Cape Town Tourism reached out and offered to cover his tuition fees for the course. This was a huge relief as Winston is still unable to earn an income. Tania then set up a small crowdfund on BackaBuddy to cover the remaining expenses for Winston.
“Winston needs to complete the first aid course and write his exams with a scribe. We have also included a little bit for daily transport to the course venue.
Please donate to this cause. It will give a wonderful man a chance to reimagine his life and restore his sense of dignity by being able to work independently again.”
Sadly, just after the campaign went live, Winston was attacked inside a taxi and had his phone stolen. He was able to use his cane to defend himself before throwing himself from the moving taxi to get away from the attackers. Tania bumped the crowdfund to R20,000 to cover the cost of his stolen phone, something he desperately needs to get by each day.
The funds raised will cover Winston’s first aid course, a laptop which will help him work through the course material, as well as his data and transport costs.
If you would like to help Winston become South Africa’s first blind tour guide, you can do so here.
“I want to be the first blind tour guide in South Africa. I want to make history. I want to show it’s not impossible to do what you want to do, despite the obstacles. I want to meet new people and learn from people from different countries who come to visit our country. I’m on the verge of learning new things.” – says Winston
