Ndivhuho Virginia Mawela-Ramaano is a 46-year-old Gauteng Department of Health manager for Eye Health policy development and implementation. After ten years of private practice as an optometrist, Ndivuho gained interested in the National agenda of prevention of blindness which was launched in 1999.
This interest led her to close her private practice and become a policy advisor for the prevention of blindness in Gauteng Province.
Her work as a state manager introduced her to the desire to pursue Public Health and disease prevention. In addition to her educational background as an Optometrist, she obtained a Master’s in Public Health degree.
What made you pursue a career in health?
Growing up in Ngovhela village, I always wanted to be a health practitioner. With no specific field in mind, my matric results dictated for me to become an optometrist.
What does a typical day at work look like for you?
I do a lot of administrative work in the office, I participate in meetings with other disciplines and conduct policy reviews.
You have worked for several organisations, have you ever faced challenges due to your gender?
I have sat in many health platforms and worked with government partners, including corporate firms and Non-Governmental Organisations ( NGOs), and I have never had challenges based on gender
What experience are you most proud of?
I am very proud of the establishment of Primary Eye Health Clinics mended by Optometrists in all five Districts in Gauteng. This took the prevention of blindness in Gauteng Province to a different and whole new level. Access to primary eye health services, in all five Districts in Gauteng, literally became a walking distance away in comparison to access in the rest of the country.
What is your greatest regret?
Believing that there is a limit to what I can achieve in life and that a postgraduate degree is my ultimate achievement in life.
What, in your opinion, are the biggest opportunities for women in health on the African continent?
The demand for skilled human resource in the African continent is increasing by the day. It is time for women to redefine gender roles, to capacitate our women, to be seen as more than wives and child-bearers, and to be part of the workforce for the development of our continent.
Have you ever been mentored, if so by whom?
Although I cannot formally term them, my mentors, two women, left important landmarks into shaping the effective manager I am today:
1. My previous manager was a skilled writer who demanded perfection and refined me to become a better writer and administrator.
2. A women leader and boss firmly made me grow up as a manager who understands and fully accounts for her role including making the tough decisions.
What is the value of mentorship in your opinion?
Mentorship is having that holding hand into a field, or project, that you yourself are not that confident in or lack the experience for. Thereof, it is like having a guide who has already mastered what you are trying to master.
What is the best advice you ever received?
My pastor once mentioned that when you acquire a lifestyle of discipline in everything, you will never have to walk with fear of tomorrow.
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