After a long ambition to pursue a career within the medical sciences, Samuel Chagwadira became one of Malawi’s first ever optometrists in 2012. Samuel, along with four of his classmates, was among the very first graduates from the Malawi School of Optometry at Mzuzu University.
As one of the first students in the program, Samuel remembers the early challenges when the university had limited equipment and resources. With the successful development of the School of Optometry, Samuel is now able to look towards even further study.
“My goals are to pursue my Masters and then my PhD, and to offer my services to my country and to Africa as whole,” he said. “The optometry program is a beautiful thing.”
Samuel said that graduating was like a dream come true, and that he will always cherish the memories of his time with lecturers and classmates.
“To be part of the first group of graduate optometrists in Malawi feels great,” he said. “It is history in the making; we’ve written history!”
Optometry Giving Sight was one of the funding partners that aided in the establishment of the Malawi School of Optometry.