Tales of resilience against all odds

By Moses Muli

Published: August 24,2024 11:07 AM

Growing up as the first-born of six children, Lydia Rosasi faced an early and unexpected hurdle. At the age of nine, a mysterious illness transformed her life. After numerous medical tests, Lydia was later diagnosed with a functional neurological disorder.

Neurological disabilities include a wide range of conditions such as epilepsy, learning disabilities, neuromuscular disorders, autism and brain tumors.

This diagnosis brought physical challenges and marked her childhood with frequent hospital visits and corrective surgery. The physical and emotional struggles were compounded by bullying at school, where she was taunted and ostracized for using crutches.

Now 29, Lydia’s health challenge has shaped her destiny, and her life story is a testament to resilience and empowerment, balancing a role as a global advocate and trailblazer for disability rights.

Rather than letting adversity define her, Lydia turned it into fuel for her ambition. Determined to overcome her limitations, she focused on academic excellence and was consistently at the top of her class. Her love of reading, nurtured by hours spent alone with books, became a cornerstone of her intellectual development.

It wasn’t easy. The journey to adulthood was fraught with social stereotypes and personal doubts. As people, even those close to her, ridiculed her, she remained undeterred in her determination to make it in life and prove that challenges can be overcome.

Her academic prowess earned her a degree in Communication and Public Relations and a diploma in Leadership and Management. Now studying for a master’s in development studies, Lydia’s ambition extends to a PhD.

In the corporate arena, Lydia’s success is a blend of competence, strategic networking and an unwavering commitment to inclusion. She believes that building expertise and maintaining professional integrity are key to standing out.

Her role as Sight Savers’ appointed Global Youth Ambassador for the Equal World Campaign is an example of her leadership. At the age of 27, she was recognised by the Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK) as one of the top 50 women in PR in Kenya. She became the youngest council member of the society.

Lydia’s motivation is deeply rooted in the stories and struggles of other people with disabilities. Their resilience and optimism drive her to advocate for inclusion and to demystify disability. As a champion of inclusive communication practices, Lydia offers practical advice to young women who aspire to similar success: embrace your unique perspective, focus on continuous self-development and build a strong support network. She stresses that consistent effort, and a teachable spirit are more important than innate talent.

Lydia also reflects on the gender disparity in career success. She acknowledges the systemic biases women face and advocates for equal opportunities, mentorship and inclusive policies. Her message is clear: women, like those before them, must push boundaries to achieve meaningful change.

Her life and work continue to inspire and pave the way for others, proving that resilience, passion and a commitment to change can make a difference.

Lydia’s inspiring resilience is not unique to her but is duplicated by hundreds of women who have defied such health limitations while pushing and advocating for an inclusive environment for all.

Nominated Senator Crystal Asige has in the past described her nomination to the Senate as a victory for people with disabilities and other minority groups across the country. She has been at the forefront of advocating for people with disabilities to negotiate for their rightful place in the workplace.

“A win for Persons with Disabilities, a win for women, and a win for the youth in Kenya… I am incredibly grateful to my lifelong support system, from family, and friends and to my #Wafuasi who have never ceased to believe in me. God makes me smile every time He reminds me that hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny. Always by Faith not by sight,” she wrote.

The singer and songwriter, who grew up in Mombasa, was diagnosed with glaucoma in her early 20s and lost her sight. Despite this, she has gone on to achieve great things, coming to prominence as the first lady of Sauti Sol’s premium label, Sol Generation.

The nominated senator has also expressed her disappointment at Parliament for its disability-unfriendly environment, telling her story of how it was difficult to coordinate during communication because she could not tell if the speaker saw her when she raised her hand to make her contribution.

According to the 2019 census, more women (2.5 per cent) than men (1.9 per cent) live with a disability. Girls and young women with disabilities – the most prevalent are mobility, visual impairment and cognitive disabilities – are often denied the right to make decisions for themselves about their reproductive and sexual health, increasing their risk of sexual violence, unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection, that according to United Nations Population Fund (UNPF). Kenya is home to over six million persons with disabilities, of whom 0.9 million are women with disabilities, based on statistics provided in the national census. Of these 2.6 per cent (0.7 million) of people live in rural areas and 1.4 per cent (0.2 million) of people in urban areas.

Rose Resiato, a woman with disability from the Maasai community and a member of the Kenyan Network of Women and Girls with Disabilities highlights the need to strengthen organizations of women and girls with disabilities, more so within indigenous communities and support them to develop their capacities to be active participants in humanitarian programs.

“If communities do not value the experiences of women and girls, and in particular women and girls with disabilities, they will be isolated at community level and wouldn’t receive support during situations of risk. As such, practices around the removal of barriers to participation by women and girls with disabilities, more so from the Indigenous communities, must be considered even as we broadly speak about situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies,” Rosiato said during a discussion under the topic ‘Best Practices to protect persons with disabilities and ensure their safety in situations of risks’.

According to a UN Women’s Report on Women and Girls with Disabilities, it is estimated that one in five women live with a disability. According to the report, women with disabilities experience various types of impairments – including physical, psychosocial, intellectual, and sensory conditions – that may or may not come with functional limitations. In addition, the diversity of women with disabilities includes those with multiple and intersecting identities across all contexts, such as ethnic, religious, and racial backgrounds; their status as refugee, migrant, asylum-seeking, and internally displaced women; LGBTIQ+ identity; age; marital status; and living with or being affected by HIV.

Faith Odidi, a programmes coordinator at a humanitarian organization, says women with disability face attitudinal barriers since political parties don’t understand disability.

Odidi believes that one way of addressing this is ensuring that political parties include women with disability in their policies, manifestos, constitution and nomination rules.

“When political parties have structures in place, then women with disabilities will easily be included,” she says.

Jane Kihungi, the director of Women Challenged to Challenge (WCC), believes that the majority of women with disability are not well educated and lack financial muscles due to unemployment which hinders their engagement in politics.

“Some of the things that we have done at WCC is to educate women with disabilities, build their capacity and their self-esteem. Besides that, we have trained media personnel to be able to tell the stories of women with disabilities for visibility,” says Kihungi.