A training opportunity helped change Ashreeta Lingham’s career. Its effect now reaches communities across the Pacific through the eye care nurses she teaches.
Professor Fred Hollows believed that lasting change began with sharing knowledge.
“Teach the teachers first, then the teachers can teach others.”
Ashreeta’s journey reflects that belief. After receiving opportunities to develop her own eye care skills, she is now helping others gain the knowledge and experience to care for people in their communities.
A growing interest in eye care
Originally from Labasa in Vanua Levu, Fiji, Ashreeta joined the Pacific Eye Institute (PEI) in 2010 as a nurse. She worked in the operating theatre and travelled with outreach teams across Fiji and other Pacific Island countries.
The range of patients and eye conditions she encountered strengthened her interest in eye care and encouraged her to continue learning.
While working at PEI, Ashreeta was given the opportunity to complete her Postgraduate Diploma in Eye Care, graduating in 2013. She later completed a Master of Community Eye Care with sponsorship from The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ and the Pacific Eye Institute, as well as a Postgraduate Certificate in Diabetic Eye Care.
Her own teachers also influenced the educator she would become. Ashreeta remembers mentors who made difficult concepts easier to understand and took the time to learn what their students needed. She now tries to bring the same approach to her classroom.
From clinical care to the classroom
Teaching was not part of Ashreeta’s original plan. Her career had been focused on clinical care, but an invitation to try teaching gave her a new way to think about the difference she could make.
She began tutoring part-time at the Pacific Eye Institute in 2014. After taking time for further study, she returned as an assistant lecturer in 2016.
“I never thought I would be a teacher,” Ashreeta says. “When I am in clinical care, I can see only so many people. But when I train eight to ten people and they graduate, they go on to see many more.”
Today, Ashreeta is a lecturer at Fiji National University and teaches the postgraduate nursing programme at the Pacific Eye Institute. Each year, up to ten eye care nurses from around the Pacific graduate from the programme.
“I am very proud of each of my graduates,” she says. “I feel that I am contributing to communities around the region, with students graduating and working in eye care after their studies.”
Why local training matters
Many of Ashreeta’s graduates return to clinics in their own countries, including rural areas where access to specialist eye care can be limited.
Ashreeta believes local eye care workers bring valuable knowledge to their roles. They understand their communities, languages and cultures, as well as how their local health systems work. This can help patients feel understood and more confident in the care they receive.
Training requires time, effort and investment, but its value continues long after a student graduates. After graduating, the nurses can use what they have learned to assess patients, plan appropriate care and help people access eye care closer to home.
Passing knowledge forward
Looking back, Ashreeta is proud to have contributed to the development and standardisation of the nursing eye care programme, including work that supported its recognition by the Fiji Nursing Council. She also credits the programme with helping shape the person and teacher she is today.
Her journey has now come full circle. The opportunities Ashreeta received helped her grow as an eye nurse and educator, and the knowledge she passes on continues through every graduate she teaches.
For the supporters who help make this training possible, Ashreeta has a heartfelt message.
“I would like to sincerely thank them for the support and trust they have given,” she says. “Their support has created wonders in people’s lives here, and I am one of them. A heartfelt thank you.”
