Specsavers co-founder supports Cardiff optometry students project to provide eyecare in Malawi

Optometry students from Cardiff University have helped deliver vital eyecare to communities in Malawi thanks to a donation from the co-founder of Specsavers.

Dame Mary Perkins gave £12,000 to help pay for the month-long trip for 10 students who worked in health centres and village halls, set up pop-up clinics and provided free eye tests, treatment and training in some of the country’s most remote areas.

Over the course of the visit, the team carried out more than 1,800 eye tests, diagnosed a range of conditions, supplied over 3,000 glasses and funded cataract surgeries for hundreds of people across north and south regions.

Fundraisers

Four of the 10 students – Jaini Bhatt, Benjamin Ralphs, Anna Hawk and Joanna Davies – are currently trainee optometrists at Cardiff Queen Street and Pontypridd Specsavers. Ahead of their trip they held multiple fundraisers and took with them hundreds of pairs of donated glasses and 40 boxes of PPE.

Dame Mary Perkins says: ‘I’m incredibly proud to support this project and the work of Cardiff University and its optometry students. This partnership is about striving for long-term improvements in eyecare.

‘Projects like this don’t just deliver life-changing care, they also help the next generation of optometrists build their skills in a meaningful way.’

The latest visit builds on a 27-year partnership between Cardiff University’s School of Optometry and Malawi’s health service, a collaboration that has played a key role in developing the country’s optometry services.

In addition to Dame Mary’s contribution, the students raised more than £3,300 through a GoFundMe campaign, and a further £500 from a charity quiz night and in-store donations at Specsavers Cardiff Queen Street.

Specsavers Pontypridd also supported by donating two Volk lenses and glazed specs for patients in Malawi.

Jaini Bhatt contacted Dame Mary personally to ask for a donation.

Rewarding 

Ms Bhatt adds: ‘The experience was incredibly rewarding. We saw first-hand how access to eyecare can truly change lives.

‘There was a lot of planning and fundraising ahead of the trip and being part of the Specsavers community made it such a positive experience.

‘We’re so grateful to Dame Mary and to all the stores across the Cardiff cluster and Pontypridd for their support. Thanks to everyone’s generosity, we could take more equipment and reach more people. It’s an experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life.’