If you needed a dose of motivation to be bold, brave and strive for your most impossible dreams this year, Nqabohlanga Winston Fani’s story was meant to find you!
Cape Town, South Africa (03 January 2024) — A new year means new reasons to be inspired and encouraged. And, we’re starting off 2024 strong with a story of determination, kindness, bold dreams and triumphs—meet Nqabohlanga Winston Fani, South Africa’s first blind tourist guide!
If you needed a reason to reach for the impossible this year, we are glad Nqabohlanga’s story has found you (and us). This is not only a story about someone part of a trail-blazing path that’s created more joy and accessibility in the exploration of our country. It’s also a story about someone who was the first to go against a particular grain of possibility; reminding us that beauty and appreciation are not bound to our senses.
Last year, it was announced that braille tourism was making big moves in Cape Town as part of a new initiative geared toward inclusive tourism. Here, Nqabohlanga Winston Fani was name-dropped as the first qualified blind tour guide in South Africa. Armed with eloquent descriptions of street artworks and a desire to show other dream pursuers that the impossible is only what you believe it is, he became something of a legend in the Mother City.
However, what many don’t know is that his now historic status came because of what felt like misfortune at the time. After having been retrenched during the pandemic. In a South Africa where jobs for anyone, let alone those with an impairment of any kind, are not exactly booming.
But, not unlike the great artworks he guides people through today, his journey to becoming the first qualified blind tourist guide required two important ingredients that he needed to stick to: bravery and trusting the process, as Beautiful News shares in a powerful clip.
Having lost his sight when he entered his teen years, Nqabohlanga was no stranger to how tough employment was for those with circumstances similar to his. As such, he realised it was time to tackle his dreams despite the odds when his job hunt seemed riddled with hurdles. Deciding at 35-years-old that it was time to share his dream of being the first blind tourist guide, he was met with helpful ears through Tania Robbertze and Wendy Pardon who helped connect him with Cape Town tourism and set up a crowdfunding campaign for him to cover coursework costs.
Despite challenges—from financial anxiety to physical challenges and of course, the risks involved in taking bold steps—today his story is being shared loudly and proudly as that of the first blind tourist guide in South Africa. And the continent, for that matter. From braille to audio tours, today he guides the next cohort of dreamers, appreciators and creatives—no matter their ‘abilities’.
Taking notes from the tourist guide, here’s what we think should prelude the new year: More bold steps. More firsts. More belief in others on their way toward their dreams. More encouragement. Louder support for friends and strangers. And, more daring to believe in the beauty of anything good, even if it is deemed impossible.
Sources: Various (Linked Above)
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