Nine years ago, 28-year-old Setra O’selmo’s life took a drastic turn. Through the misfortune of a vehicular accident, Setra sustained an injury to her spinal cord and as such, lost the ability to walk. This incident would see her becoming so depressed that when she went home from the hospital, she locked herself away and vowed to never leave the house again.

The experience, she said, “was traumatizing and painful.”

“Life after my accident was an experience I never thought I could have overcome because I knew I had to start my life over from scratch. There was lots of therapy including feeding, changing my clothes, bathing, exercising, doing my chores and getting facing the public; all of that was very tough.”

Faced with the choice of continuing to wallow in self-pity or reclaim her life, Setra, after a spontaneous makeup session, decided on the latter.

She grew up in Linden and was raised in the religion of Rastafarianism.

She found herself experimenting with her looks and because of her penchant for “makeup and fancy things,” her father began to call her “fashion Rasta.” She knew from then that she would be her own boss.

It was this same dream of owning her own business that saw Setra transform herself back to the person she was before the crash. She pursued a path of entrepreneurship, aware, but not paying too much attention to the difficulties she knew she might face.

Armed with the desire and talent to do makeup and hair, Setra decided that she would use her talent to become someone, who, despite being in a wheelchair was self-sufficient and independent, as she did not want to be pitied. It was not long before Setra was the proud owner of the business “Sisters to Sisters beauty,” a salon which caters to natural hair in Amelia’s Ward, Linden. It opened its doors in October of 2013.

The year 2013 in Setra’s book is a year to be proud of. Aside from finally opening her business, she was the only local makeup artist who was afforded the opportunity to work at the Guyana Fashion week, hosted every year. She also at the time had become involved in the Linden Hair Expo at the Egbert Benjamin Hall.

Luckier than most, Setra explained that she never really had much disappointments or setbacks when first pursuing her business, crediting the wonderful and accommodating people she has met along the way and her drive to accomplish everything she set out to do.

“I believe that the only thing that can really hinder you from getting your own business is yourself.”

Setra, who is now President of the Women’s Association for Sustainable Development (WASD) in Linden, believes that despite what disabilities or fears one may have, they should always try to overcome these challenges. Even if you don’t do it for yourself she said, try to do it for others.

“I feel we can always use our set backs to motivate, inspire, captivate and save someone’s life…while leaving room for growth in ourselves.
“Growth is empowerment and empowerment makes you unstoppable. Everyone has their demons to face but only you can be the creator of the reality you seek.”