Raising above all tribulations: The inspirational story of Bright Oywaya

Bright Oywaya’s story has been told before, but rarely has she spoken about the struggles she faced after her accident in 1997. At the time, Bright was an exuberant young woman with dreams to conquer. She was a banker and had just joined the fascinating corporate world. But like everyone who encounters life-changing hurdles, Bright had no clue that her life would drastically change in a split second. She remembers seeing a car advancing into a head-on-collision with theirs. “It was traumatic. The realisation that I could no longer walk and would need assistance with almost everything was devastating,” she says. Bright was paralysed from the waist down. Behind her physical injuries, though, was another problem. “There are swirling thoughts that hit you. You start thinking about life in a different light,” recalls Bright. “Even people around you seem disconnected. The people you knew as friends start peeling off from you, some because they don’t know how to handle you in the new state while others  no longer find any common interests with you.” Not only did Bright lose her ability to walk, she also lost her self-esteem, friendships and close relationships. Even though after the accident she was able to go back to work, albeit in a wheel chair, Bright faced daily realities that she was a ‘new’ person. She admits she fought negative thoughts and tried as much as she could to accept what had happened.

Restored hope

She was, however, not making much progress and had to seek help from a counsellor. “After a year, I decided to see a specialist who could help me deal with what happened,” she recounts. “That is when the process of acceptance begun. It didn’t happen instantly though. It was gradual and I finally took the burden of blame and self-deprecation out of my psyche.” Today, Bright is part of an advocacy group against road carnage. She is the executive director of the Association for Safe International Road Travel- Kenya (ASIRT-Kenya). Bright gives a lot of credit to her family, who supported her through recuperation and even in the process of overcoming depression. “They helped me a great deal. They stuck by me even when some friends fizzled out of my life. It is through their support that I overcame the feeling of being out of touch,” says Bright. Two years after going back to the banking hall, she resigned and enrolled in a counselling course. Today, aside from her roles at ASIRT Kenya, she is a trauma counsellor who helps others who have faced similar challenges. “It is devastating without a doubt. The negative feelings of despair are normal for anyone who experiences such a profound experience. It is good that one starts the process of acceptance, which might take long but will eventually bear fruit.” Bright views herself as important to the world, which is true because through her counselling services and advocacy, others like her have found help. “In my days of disability I have done more than I had done when I had the ability to walk. Life is not painful or worse now because of the accident. It is just different. I am not at all thinking about if or when I will be able to walk again because I have better things to do with my time on earth than just think,” she says. Bright says she focused on what was left, not what had been taken away by the accident. And as a result, she is happily living her life and doing what she can to make the world a better place.

Disclaimer: This story has been published before