31 October 2025
In Malawi, there is a severe shortage of accessible eye care – with 2019 data estimating just five optometrists and one ophthalmologist per one million people.
After finishing the second year of their optometry degrees at Cardiff University, Joanna Davies, Tilly Thompson and Alex Devonport travelled to the East African country with seven of their fellow students, with the aim of providing eye care to locals in Mzuzu and Karonga.
The students set out to Malawi on 19 June, taking part in an outreach project and spending time on safari, before splitting into two separate teams: one based in the city of Mzuzu, and one in the township of Karonga, on the western shore of Lake Malawi.
As Davies, Thompson and Devonport started the third year of their optometry studies back in Cardiff, they spoke to OT about the reasons for their trip – and why the experience was about more than simply providing eye care in the moment.
“I wanted to join the trip because I wanted to help people who had no access to primary eye care,” Devonport told OT.
“It is also a great opportunity to get more practice and see more patients. I also felt that this was a great opportunity to push myself outside of my comfort zone.”
Thompson has wanted to travel abroad to provide eye care since completing a research project about overseas healthcare during her A-levels, she explained.
“When I was offered the chance to join the trip, I saw it as a fantastic opportunity to practise my clinical skills and to make a positive difference to the lives of those in Malawi,” she said.
Aside from the work of providing eye care to those who might not be able to access it otherwise, the trip had a personal significance for the students.
“This trip was of particular interest to me because I have a family connection to the country – this is the place where my grandparents met and got married,” Thompson said.
“My grandfather was an architect, and my grandmother was a midwife, and they both lived and worked in Malawi in the 1960s. Having the opportunity to follow in their footsteps made this trip particularly special for me.”
For Davies, childhood experience of strabismus led to an early awareness of the importance of preventative eye care.
“As a young child, I underwent several corrective strabismus surgeries and when a family member needed sight saving surgery some years later, I became very aware of the power of timely intervention,” Davies said.
“These experiences have given me a real understanding of how life changing proper eye care can be, and have ignited a commitment to ensuring others have access to the same opportunities for improved sight, regardless of circumstance.”
She added: “I knew that this trip would be a once in a lifetime experience – an opportunity to help me grow both personally and professionally.”
My grandfather was an architect, and my grandmother was a midwife, and they both lived and worked in Malawi in the 1960s. Having the opportunity to follow in their footsteps made this trip particularly special for me
Sharpened clinical skills and a wider perspective
The trip was organised by Peter Hong MBE, a specialist optometrist at University Hospital Wales, along with Cardiff University’s Professor Barbara Ryan MBE, and Sharon Beatty, outgoing clinical adviser at Optometry Wales.
The group spent three weeks in Malawi, returning to Wales between 8 and 12 July.
Aside from helping to provide eye care to people living in rural villages, the group also sought to foster an ongoing collaboration with Mzuzu University, with the aim of strengthening local eye care provision.
“Our main task was to provide free eye tests to local people, many of whom have never had a sight test,” Davies told OT.
“At each outreach project, we set up different stations to conduct vision screening, refraction, ophthalmoscopy, dispensing and hospital referrals. This setup helped us to share the workload and work more efficiently.”
She added: “Between the two teams, we provided more than 1500 people with spectacles, thanks to the wonderful individuals and businesses who collected, glazed and donated lenses and frames.”
The students also spent one day at Mzuzu Central Hospital, where they observed cataract surgery.
Fundraising ahead of the trip had raised £8100, enough to cover cost of cataract surgery for 270 eyes. The students were able to hand the donation over to the ophthalmologist during their visit to the hospital.
Speaking about the hospital visit, Davies explained: “Whilst observing the resident optometrist, we saw many patients with glaucoma. One gentleman, presenting as an emergency, showed signs of severe neovascular glaucoma, with intraocular pressures of 92. He was swiftly admitted.
“This patient was of particular interest to us, as we had never seen rubeosis iridis in real life, nor did any of us realise that the iCare tonometer could read pressures that high.”
Davies told OT: “This experience not only sharpened my clinical skills, but also profoundly reshaped my perspective on life.
“We saw many people at the end stage of their conditions, which gave me a deeper appreciation of the value of early intervention and accessible eye care.”
Thompson found that practising clinical skills in challenging environments, including carrying out retinoscopy in bright, sunlit rooms, helped to increase her confidence in her clinical abilities.
“I feel that I also have more experience of working with patients, so I feel better prepared for my clinics in the third and fourth years of the MOptom course,” she said.
The experience has also encouraged her to take on further voluntary work abroad.
“The heart-warming response that I received from my patients in Malawi has inspired me to support more projects like this in the future,” she said.
Devonport added: “It has made me realise that we are privileged to have the NHS. Although long waiting lists can be challenging, it ensures that everyone has access to care.
“Managing patients with severe eye conditions has also strengthened my ability to handle complex cases, and will guide how I support my patients in my future career.”
Cardiff students carrying out eye care in Malawi
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