Eye Health Hero: Damien Motteau

Damien joined Essilor’s Mission department in 2018 as country manager in Ivory Coast. Among his contributions, we can mention the implementation of a school eyes screening campaign in Abidjan with the support of the NGO CBM and the support to HKI’s school eyes screening campaign in Burkina Faso. Later on, he moved to Cameroon to explore the feasibility of collaborating with eye care specialized hospitals as well as overseeing vision care related projects across West and Central Africa. In 2020, in the wake of COVID19 outbreak, as Essilor Foundation quickly adapted its support to cater to the urgent need of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline health workers, Damien also contributed to the distribution of these PPE. Damien is now senior business developer in Africa based in Kenya.

Damien is a result oriented professional with a strong business acumen. He has shown great talent in both implementing philanthropic and inclusive business in various countries across Africa. His passion for finding ways to help people see drives him through the operational challenges that projects may sometimes encounter. Damien is also a great team player and pays attention to empower his colleagues and grow their potentials.

In his current position, Damien played an instrumental role in the establishment of a network of primary vision providers in Western Kenya. Under his leadership, the “Eye Rafiki Program” structure and processes have been improved while ensuring activities are carried out under a Covid-free protocol and meeting the government’s expected standards. The Eye Rafiki Program is a certified vocational training in visual health created in which unemployed youth are trained to become primary vision care providers as well as support them in their entrepreneurial journey as they launch their vision centers. In doing so, this program addresses three key issues: providing vision correction and protection for communities in regions deprived of eye care professionals, developing skills and creating jobs.

Throughout his hands-on experiences in different countries and is ability to navigate and implement different models and dialogue with various stakeholders, Damien proved to be a remarkable change maker.

“As a world leader in ophthalmic lenses with a powerful mission and an ambition to eradicate poor vision, EssilorLuxottica puts its great experience and capacity in the service of vision care. Having the chance to contribute to such an ambitious and impactful journey is an incredible chance and very fulfilling experience. What I cherish the most is the ability to leverage a wide range of the company’s assets to address local challenges; especially to be able to carry out both philanthropic and market driven approach based on the regions features and needs. In this regard, the Eye Rafiki Program is a great program in which high expectations are set for the training of shortlisted young candidates to high standard of vision care as well as establishing sustainable vision care access points and supporting entrepreneurship.”

– Damien Motteau