DAMARIS CHAWINGA

Damaris Chawinga, a 32-year-old woman born in Lilongwe Malawi, is a registered optometrist with 7 years of experience in providing primary eye care services at a clinical setup. Damaris has worked with the organizations and private sectors in Zimbabwe in provision of good eye health for 5 years. Her passion goal is to pursue her education to a PhD level in public health for community eye care to reinforce her technical skills with research skills and share her knowledge and skills with her colleagues

“A Mentor Plays A Crucial Role in Fostering My Development”

Q: Tell us a few things about you! Your background, your childhood and early beginnings! 

My name is Damaris Maria Chawinga and I grew up in Blantyre, Malawi. I completed my undergraduate degree in northern part of Malawi at Mzuzu University in 2015, where I developed a strong interest in the Optometry field. Following my education, I started working with the government of Malawi health sector, where I have worked as an Optometrist since 2018, gaining significant experience in providing primary eye care services, which includes providing a comprehensive eye examination, treatment and management of eye conditions. 

Currently, I am working as an Optometrist in Harare, Zimbabwe with the private sector and I am pursuing my studies in MSc Public Health with the Liverpool John Moores University. In addition to my professional pursuits, I am passionate about eye care entrepreneurship and eye care charity works, which helps me stay balanced and motivated. Overall, my journey has been shaped by a commitment to Innovation and adaptability, where I am embracing innovation and technological advancements in optometry to enhance patient outcomes and experiences, while also remaining adaptable to changing healthcare landscapes and I am excited to continue growing and contributing positively to the good eye health care of my community.

Q: What are some of the key challenges in your society currently?

I am originally from Lilongwe, Malawi, where I usually visit from time to time and some of the key challenges in Lilongwe, include: Healthcare challenges, where there is limited access to quality healthcare services, including medical facilities, trained personnel and essential medications, leading to high rates of preventable diseases and maternal and child mortality. 

Secondly, education is another challenge in Malawi. There is inadequate educational infrastructure, resources and teacher shortages, which contribute to low literacy rates and limited access to quality education, especially in rural areas. This is because the good schools are mostly expensive for an average Malawians and those that average Malawians can afford are not equipped with well trained teachers and proper learning materials.

Q: Share with us some of the hurdles that you had to overcome in your life so far? How did you handle them? 

As an Optometrist in Malawi, who is trying to build and grow I have encountered several hurdles on my professional journey, some which includes 

Financial Constraints:

As one way of growing in my field and bring positive impact to my country, it has always been my desire to have an eye clinic practice to reach out to many people with good eye health care services and having a charity organisation in the clinic to assist the underprivileged. Limited financial resources have hindered my ability to invest in my practice, acquire required equipment and reach out to the underprivileged. 

I have tried overcoming financial hurdles by being involved in budgeting effectively and I have been seeking funding opportunities from well-wishers of which until now, to no avail, hence I had to resort to practice in Zimbabwe to support my eye clinic and the charity works within the clinic back home in Malawi. 

Why is the role of a mentor important for you? 

I have come to realise that the role of a mentor is important to me for several reasons: 

Guidance and expertise: for me to navigate challenges and make informed decisions I need a mentor for guidance. I believe a mentor’s experience may offer me insights that can save my time and help me prevent common pitfalls. 

Networking Opportunities: through a mentor, I believe I can gain access to a broader professional and charity work network, which can open doors to new opportunities, collaborations and resources that I might not have discovered on my own. This might also help me to achieve my long-time goal of finding well-wishers for the charity work of provision of primary eye care services to the underprivileged. 

In general, I believe a mentor plays a crucial role in fostering my development, providing support and helping me achieve my goals more effectively.

Q: Do you have a lesson that life has taught you and you would like to share? 

Life has taught me that ultimately it’s me that matters and I am overall in charge of my thoughts and goals. If I do not execute my ideas, no one else will do them for me, hence I will be stuck in one place. I need to be responsible in whatever I am doing and I usually give myself self-motivation in order to overcome obstacles and achieve my goals along with reflecting a strong sense of self- awareness and determination. 

I used to live a life of dependency and put high expectations on my surroundings and this kept me in my comfort zone and eventually this made me feel out of place with my surroundings and the people around as it showed that they were not meeting my expectations. Of late, I have resorted to face the world and I have successfully moved out of my comfort zone.

Q: Name a project, a foundation or a person in your country that you think is doing great work in helping improve other people's lives! 

There are several projects and individuals in Malawi who are making significant changes in improving people's lives. For instance: 

Her Education Matters Umodzi Project: This initiative aims to improve girls' education in Malawi by addressing barriers such as lack of sanitary facilities and menstrual hygiene management (MHM). The project has successfully increased girls' enrollment and attendance at Likulu Primary School by providing sanitary pads, constructing changing rooms and training girls and mothers in MHM. These efforts have led to a significant rise in girls' school attendance and engagement from the community in supporting girl’s education.

Q: What are some of the challenges that women in your country face and what efforts are being made towards gender equality?

Women in Malawi face numerous challenges, here are some key challenges and the efforts being made to address them;

Gender Based Violence (GBV) remains a significant issue, with high rates of domestic violence, sexual assault and early marriages. Efforts to combat this include awareness campaigns and support services. For instance, the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women supports initiatives like the "We are One" campaigns in refugee camps to raise awareness and prevent violence against women and girls.

Economic Inequality; Women in Malawi often lack access to economic resources and opportunities. Many women are engaged in subsistence farming but face challenges due to climate change and limited access to markets. Programmes like the Social Protection for Gender Empowerment and Resilience (SP-GEAR) aim to improve economic status of women in Malawi. 

Overall, the combined efforts of the Malawian government, international organisations and local NGOs are focused on creating a safer, more equitable environment for women and girls, addressing both immediate needs and long-term systemic issues.

Q: Share with us a motto you live by. 

I will share a motto which I believe encourages my personal responsibility and proactive action in making positive changes and which inspires me to lead by example and take initiative in creating the world I envision: 

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."

Q: If you had all the money needed to launch the project of your dreams, can you describe what you would do? 

Providing Eye Health Care to the Underprivileged 

With sufficient funding, I would bring my vision to life by launching a comprehensive project dedicated to providing essential eye healthcare services to the underprivileged. This initiative will aim to ensure that everyone, regardless of their economic status, has access to quality eye care. 

This project mainly aims at providing the community with accessible eye care, establishing clinics in underserved areas to offer regular eye exams, treatments and corrective surgeries. On the treatment part: a significant number of Malawians lives below the poverty line which makes it difficult for them to afford some medical products like spectacles when one has the impaired vision that need spectacles, this leads to preventable blindness to many Malawians hence despite the provision of the comprehensive eye examination but also there is a need to provide the required treatment to the conditions as well. 

Education and Awareness, by conducting community outreach programmes to educate people about the importance of eye health and preventive care. 

I believe this project matters since,millions of people suffer from preventable blindness and visual impairments, particularly in underprivileged communities in Malawi. By addressing this issue, it can significantly improve the quality of life, educational outcomes, and economic opportunities for individuals and their families. 

I believe I will make this dream a reality some day and create a future where quality eye care is accessible to all Malawians.

Q: Anything else that you may wish to add?

As a professional in the field of eye health care, I am deeply invested in raising awareness about preventable blindness. It is unfortunate to me to see so many people unaware of the steps they can take to safeguard their vision. My mission is to educate and empower individuals to prioritise their eye health and seek early detection and treatment to prevent unnecessary vision loss. 

Lastly, I’m grateful for the GTF mentoring programme. Thank you for the opportunity.