Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

24 July 2025

3-minute read

The gift of sight is often taken for granted, but there are countless individuals in South Africa’s rural communities who live in silence, suffering from preventable or treatable vision problems, simply because they lack access to basic eyecare.

When she first started working at the local clinics after graduating from the University of Johannesburg as an optometrist, Zaahira Essay Jogee became concerned about the lack of awareness and attention around eyecare. Working in rural clinics, she was confronted with the staggering need for eyecare amongst vulnerable populations.

“Optometry goes far beyond what the eyes can see,” states Zaahira. After treating a young girl with significant vision issues who only received her spectacles almost 5 years later, Zaahira was driven to found the Ruya (Vision) Project, a non-profit organization. Her project provides essential eye care services to those in need, giving renewed hope and vision to those who would otherwise have remained unseen.

“Delayed intervention can lead to conditions like Amblyopia or lazy eye,” Zaahira emphasized, and can even contribute to learning difficulties and social development. Through the Ruya Project, she aims to raise awareness about the importance of eye care and provide vital services to those who need them the most.

The Ruya Project has “identified several critical community needs” among underprivileged communities. With the lack of eyecare awareness and many people not prioritising eye health, “education and conversations around eye health can make a huge difference.” Another challenge Zaahira and her team face is the lack of eyecare services in specific areas where there is not enough equipment or personnel to deal with vision problems. In rural communities, people have the added problem of having to travel long distances to eyecare facilities. The Ruya Project aims to get people to the correct facilities and services to conduct essential eye tests, provide diagnosis, and commence intervention and treatment.

Community involvement is crucial, says Zaahira, because by engaging with local communities and through their integrative approach, they can better target those in need of their services.

To ensure sustainability, they adhere to the HPCSA requirements for optometry, like a 2-year rotation for facilities, committing to providing their services at the facility for a set period to see treatment and intervention through to the end. Partnering with UJ Optometry Clinic has been instrumental in helping them further their services.

Despite constraints in expanding their reach, this small, volunteer-based organization is “committed to making a meaningful impact” and creating “lasting benefit” in the communities they serve. The Ruya Project’s vision is to get funding and sponsorships to expand their reach to orphanages and elder-care facilities and to provide intervention “beyond that” for other eye conditions that require more than just spectacles.

Zaahira says there are many lessons they have learnt along the way, one of them being to ditch the superhero complex by learning to say no when they “cannot go beyond what we are capable of,” as they are “limited” in their capacity. The Ruya Project is committed to restoring sight and dignity to underprivileged communities.

Listen to the full interview with Ml Sulaimaan Ravat here.