Samuel Mbeche: My intriguing ride from Nairobi to South Africa to promote eyecare

In May 2024, Mbeche embarked on a solo ride from Nairobi to South Africa, with a sole aim of creating awareness on eyecare. 

The optometrist notes that eyecare is often given less attention, proven to the fact that only a handful of medical students specialize on the eye, and a number of public health facilities lack professionals to attend to eyes. 

“Growing up in a rural area, I saw a lot of people struggling with eyecare. In High Schho, I was playing rugby and got an eye injury. I got a very shoddy treatment since there was no specialist for eyecare. From there I realized there was a gap,” Mbeche recalls the origin of his passion. 

During his adventure ride to South Africa, Mbeche cruised through 10 African countries in 22 days. 

Armed with personal effects, a tight budget and a map, he made stops in villages to interact with natives and create awareness on eyecare. 

“I only took one day break.” 

Mbeche notes that he had a smooth journey within East African borders, but experienced immigration hurdles in the other countries. 

“The toughest border to cross was Zambia. They have a lot of taxes like carbon tax, eco levy, Interpol charges…that I did not anticipate when starting the journey,”  Mbeche notes. 

Through Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho, the adventure rider met communities with different cultures, talking different languages. 

The optometrist dreams of doing another round trip across Africa as he advocates for attention to eyecare. 

Mbeche remarks that eyes should be given equal attention, just like other body parts with complications. 

“We have had opticians who just dispense spectacles. But the eyes are linked to the body, sometimes you have a bacteria or virus which manifests in the eye. We have to get more people being trained,”  he advocates. 

His vision is to see prioritization of eyecare services and creating awareness among the Kenyan population. 

“Cataracts, Glaucoma are dangerous eye conditions. Glaucoma is a silent thief of sight. You can just lose your vision without noticing.”