My gift is in my hands - Make-up artist creates beauty from her wheelchair

Amoya Williams does not remember what it is like to walk.

At age four, she was hit by a car while coming from school, and lost all feeling in her lower body.

She has been using a wheelchair since. But she remembers playing in her aunt's make-up, a hobby that she has now cultivated into a meaningful business Chick On Wheels Make-up.

She recalled that in 2011, a friend had to attend an event.

"I asked her if she wanted me to do her make-up. When she went out, other people were like 'Who did your make-up?' and then I started to get business from there," she told THE WEEKEND STAR.

Working alternately from her mother's house in Portmore, and her home in Hope Pastures, 29-year-old Williams said she serves clients from both the municipality and Kingston.

She charges between $1,500 and $2,500, depending on the kind of make-up her client wants.

But she said her disability sometimes obstruct her business.

"I can't go to my clients because of my disability, so sometimes when I'm in Hope Pastures, my clients from Portmore can't come so far," she said. "I called a driving school to learn how to drive and they said that they were gonna call me back; they didn't call. I guess they don't really facilitate persons with disability."

Williams said she honed her skills through YouTube, and also tried getting certified. But again, her disability was a drawback.

"I applied at the HEART College of Beauty Services couple years back. The last time that I had applied they said that the equipment would be upstairs, and you know I wouldn't be able to access them. And when I last spoke to them two weeks ago, they said that was still the case," she said.

But regardless, Williams said she will continue doing what she loves, as she believes she's gifted, and dreams of expanding.

"I am in a wheelchair but my hands still work. God knew exactly what he was doing. He took away my ability to walk but he made me realise that I didn't need it, because I have my gifts in my hands," she said. "I would like to be driving, going to my clients, and having a shop where the clients could come, and I'd sell the products."