Eye Health Hero: Cosmas Bunywera

Cosmas Bunywera has been working with Peek Vision since 2012 when Peek was still a research project in Nakuru, Kenya. Originally helping maintain hospital equipment, Cosmas now supports Peek-powered School and Community Eye Health programmes in Kenya as well as providing training and support to programmes internationally.

Cosmas has consistently pushed the boundaries to develop his knowledge and become an expert in his field. When he first began work with Peek’s Founder, Cosmas was a laptop repairs/IT issue fixer for anyone who needed it. This began with repairing two laptop computers for the field team and then expanded to repairing the back-up generator and soon responsibility for over £100,000 of eye examination equipment. He quickly went from maintaining to operating the equipment and became an integral part of the research team.

His enthusiasm for technology and eye health and his drive to embrace new innovations became more apparent as he joined the field team validating early prototypes of Peek technology. Within 24 months of repairing that first laptop he found himself being featured on the BBC and in a special production for Turkish Airlines demonstrating innovation in Africa (narrated by former Chelsea and Ivory Coast footballer – Didier Drogba).

Cosmas has continued to innovate, learn and expand his capabilities and is now at the forefront of Peek’s expansion to multiple counties in Kenya with the potential to benefit millions of people. He works closely with stakeholders to develop and test new approaches to help shape Peek’s products, and is a passionate advocate for ensuring new ideas translate into real-world impact so that more people receive the eye care they need.

“Creating innovative tools and technology to help in bridging the information gap and increase eye health access is one of the greatest rewards I can imagine. At Peek Vision, working as a Programme Management Lead in Kenya and across the world has given me the opportunity to develop new skills and use them to help those we work with reach more people. Having been on the journey for nearly ten years now it is so exciting to see how we are improving vision and improving lives”

– Cosmas Bunywera