Location: Somalia

“To accept an idea that was never tested before is an indication of a great mind.” I first came across this sentence during my college days in Pakistan while preparing for my career in optometry. After graduating, I returned to Somalia and began working with a colleague who had a bold idea, establishing the first Faculty of Optometry in South and Central Somalia. At first, I rejected the idea, fearing the instability and security challenges Somalia faced. But then, I remembered that quote. If no one had tested this idea before, wasn’t that all the more reason to try? Determined, we approached universities, only to face rejection after rejection. Private institutions were hesitant, questioning whether students would even enroll in a program unfamiliar to the country. But we refused to give up. After persistent efforts, Aden Adde International University in Mogadishu gave us the opportunity in 2018. Today, the faculty has over 50 students and celebrated its first 11 graduates in 2024. What once seemed impossible is now shaping the future of eye care in Somalia. It all began with the courage to embrace an untested idea.