I can see again!

Feature story

I can see again!

By Okumu Mala

How would you feel spending your days in total darkness then finally getting to see the light? Sonia Oduor, a third year student in the school of education knows exactly how it feels to be in this situation.

Sonia lost her sight shortly after finishing her primary education. She explains that everything changed. Like a continuous night time without seeing the light of the day. That transition from being able to see to being totally blind was the worst experience. Having to use brails and walking stick became mandatory. She was not able to know how she looked and her social life was affected because she lost many of her close friends. “I felt alone in this world, everything turned upside down, is like a plague came and cleared all that I had gathered,” she explains.

Sonia joined Thika School for the blind, where she learnt how to use brails and later passed her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination to join Moi University as an education student.

Sonia life changing moment came in May, when Prophet Dr Owuor visited Eldoret and she was part of the congregation. She explains that when the prophet was praying, she felt some spirit rush into her and her eyes opened suddenly.” I got surprised! I could not believe my eyes, it seemed a dream,” she exclaimed. That experience was a turning point for her. “I felt reborn again, like this heavy weight I have been walking with in my life has been taken away.”

Sonia explains that today she has many new friends, she receives a lot of attention and she feels good, comfortable and part of a society she had been longing for, the longer part of her life. She adds that even though she still has a problem with bright light, she believes she will be perfectly fine in due time. “My message to everybody out there is believe in God because He exists. Whether healed or not, God is still there,” Sonia tells emotionally.