This Hamilton optician's experience in South Africa was eye-opening. Now she's started her own practice

Tapiwa Musewe remembers her first pair of glasses. 

They were bright pink and left her curious about the work of the optometrist who prescribed them: "What did he do to help me see again?"

Musewe, who is now a Hamilton optician, also remembers a dream she had while studying, in which a group of children came to her seeking help to see. 

"I remember being in that dream and saying, 'I'll help you guys.' And I helped a few of them and then I said, 'You guys need to come back tomorrow.'" It helped her to know she was on the right career path. 

In January, Musewe became the owner of DragaVisionCare, an optometry practice in Hamilton's Stoney Creek area, which offers eye exams, prescriptive eyewear and contact lenses. 

She sat down with CBC Hamilton to talk about becoming a business owner, and working in a field where she says she hasn't met many people who look like her.

Musewe is registered with the Ontario College of Opticians, which describes the profession as being similar to pharmacists, since opticians are trained to interpret and supply prescriptions, but don't perform eye exams. 

She received a Bachelor of Science degree from McMaster University before studying opticianry at Georgian College in Barrie, Ont. After that, Musewe said, she considered studying optometry in Canada, but found it too expensive. Instead, she studied in South Africa at the University of Johannesburg. Musewe said she completed her optometry degree in 2018 but has not yet bridged those credentials to practice in Ontario.

In South Africa, Musewe said, she worked with a diverse range of clients and learned to work with different kinds of bodies. For example, she said, she worked with many racialized people who naturally had larger optic nerves, which in Canada is often considered a sign of glaucoma. Musewe said she learned to test for the condition but not see the enlarged nerve as the same cause for alarm in all patients. 

She also learned to work with people who feel uncomfortable going to a specialist, and how to include family members in a person's care. 

When she returned to Canada, Musewe worked at Georgian College and later, she worked to provide glasses care to people at home.

Along the way, she received some support in her path to becoming a business owner from the Southwestern Ontario Black Entrepreneurship Network (SWOBEN) which offers support and networking to Black people who run businesses or nonprofits. 

"That was humbling, because it made me realize I don't know everything," Musewe said.