Riaan Manser has been a long-time supporter of my crazy endeavours, and with him at my side, I know this project will be full of adventure and a massive success,” Christopher Venter explains.
South Africa (22 July 2022) – For most, building a house comes with its own set of challenges and obstacles to reach the desired result of the perfect family home; for Christopher Venter, however, one more obstacle to deal with is the fact that he is blind. Roping in renowned international explorer and friend Riaan Manser to be his eyes on the project, it is sure to be one of the most ambitious builds that will test both men’s ability to communicate and take direction from each other to reach this goal.
In 2013, Christopher decided to set out on what he believed would be the adventure of his life. His chosen adventure was an epic ride through Africa on a little two-stroke scooter. His journey took him all the way from Cape Town, South Africa, to Dublin, Ireland. The expedition’s purpose was to raise funds and awareness for a local children’s hospital, but little did he know when he set out that his adventure would turn his life upside down and change the way he sees the world.
Both literally and figuratively.
After contracting a rare virus during his expedition, Christopher endured months of trauma and torture. He was juggled from hospital to hospital, and only when his sight suddenly disappeared… doctors had finally figured out the problem. His life was saved, but his sight was gone, forever.
Refusing to allow the obstacle of sight loss to slow him down, Christopher has undertaken some massive projects over the last eight years as the now reinvented Blind Adventurer. Whether paddling, pedalling or driving a host of vehicles around the racetrack, he is always on some sort of epic adventure. This time though, the project is totally different to what has become his normal.
“When I went blind, I thought my life was over, yet here I am proving my mantra that in an accessible world, a “Blind Man Can” do anything that a sighted person is able to. We sometimes just have to get creative and be resourceful and, of course, get a helping hand (or eyes rather) from our friends. Riaan has been a long-time supporter of my crazy endeavours, and with him at my side, I know this project will be full of adventure and a massive success,” Christopher Venter explains.
Riaan has never shied away from a challenge, but building and taking the position of foreman on a site is not one of the qualifications his 20 years of world-first exploration have earned him.
But as we all know, he will certainly give this new profession of foreman to a blind builder the utmost enthusiasm and bring his three most important pillars by which he lives his life: Courage, perseverance and attitude.
“From exploring and seeing the vast oceans on our planet, and now I am into probably the greatest and most strenuous journey that I have ever undertaken, being the eyes for my good friend Chris. A year and half of my life has been put into this building blind project, and I am proud, but I also still know realistically and soberly that this is just the beginning,” Riaan Manser said.
The building site is set in idyllic Fischerhaven, Hermanus, with crew already hard at work with laying the foundation and getting ready to build the Venter’s dream family home using Nutec structural insulated panels in the construction of the walls.
Nutec fibre-cement boards use safe renewable fibres; have considerable tensile strength with enhanced dynamic load bearing properties; excellent thermal properties; water and wind resistance; hail resistance; fire resistance and resistance to fungus, rodents and acid. Nutec is a registered trademark for products manufactured without the use of asbestos as a raw material.
“When Riaan approached Everite to participate in Building Blind, I jumped at the opportunity in the same way we embraced sponsoring the reconstruction of the iconic beach huts in Muizenberg. Personally, I have the greatest respect for what Riaan has accomplished and cannot think of a better person to be associated with, whilst showcasing alternative building technologies on this project,” Craig Cronje – Sales and Marketing Director, Everite Building Products said.
To find out more about Building Blind, follow @RiaanManserOfficial and @BlindAdventurerChristopherVenter on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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