Kechi Okwuchi, born October 29, 1989 is a Nigerian-American singer and motivational speaker. Okwuchi was one of the two survivors in the Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 crash on December 10, 2005 that claimed 107 lives of 109 passengers in Nigeria, 60 of which were her school mates from Loyola Jesuit College. She received third degree burns over 65% of her body and was given a 30% chance of survival. Kechi was only 16 when in 2005 she was on a plane home from boarding school for the Christmas holidays, traveling between two cities in her home country of Nigeria, Abuja and Port Harcourt. The plane, which was also bringing 60 of her classmates, home to their families, crash-landed at Port Harcourt airport killing all but two passengers, including Kechi. Kechi. Okwuchi was air-lifted to Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa for immediate medical attention and treatment, and later to Shriners Hospitals for Children in Galveston, Texas, United States.
In 2007 she and her family moved to Texas to be near Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Galveston, where she received treatment. Since, then she’s endured more than 100 surgeries to reconstruct her burn injuries or make them more comfortable to live with.
Before the crash, Kechi as a teenager was content to view God through her mother’s faith, she viewed God as an entity to be respected and feared. During her hospital stay she developed her own personal relationship with God, learning to associate God with pure, unconditional love rather than to be feared.
She said, there’s truly nothing like prayer. It reinforces faith, which gives you courage. It calms you when things get really hard to deal with. If there’s one thing I learned through this experience, it’s the value of faith. Kechi found her true voice after her accident. Throughout the difficult journey of burns recovery, Kechi was sustained by her Christian faith, her family and her music. She resumed high school in 2009 and in 2015 she graduated First Class from University of St. Thomas, Houston, with a Bachelors degree in Economics. She was the student speaker at the Commencement Ceremony. Sharing these words in her commencement speech: to me, this degree is not just a degree. It is a gift to the 60 students that died in a plane I was in some years ago. It represents the fulfillment of a promise I made to those students and their parents that I would reach this important milestone on behalf of those they lost.
She is an inspirational and TEDx keynote speaker, and bully-prevention advocate. Her dramatic story, as well as her impactful messages of resilience combines powerfully to inspire personal and cultural transformation.
Okwuchi was a speaker at Tedx Houston where she gave a talk titled Girls- know thyself. Unknown to her, a friend signed her up to audition for the 2017 season of America’s Got Talent. When producers called to say were interested, she took it in stride. Her faith in God and her optimism has transformed any “whys” into “why not” Kechi later went on to take part in the twelfth season of America’s Got Talent in 2017 as a singer. Responding to Simon Cowell’s question before her audition she said: lying in the hospital bed bandaged head to foot, not being able to move or do anything else, music was my escape. That’s why it means so much to me. She finished the competition as a finalist. She later participated in the premiere season of America’s Got Talent: The Champions in 2019, after an excellent rendition of the song “you are the reason” Simon Cowell gave her the golden buzzer, sending her straight to the final.
She has performed at sporting events, other events throughout the United States, South Korea and Africa. Okwuchi was chosen to headline Utah’s 8th Annual Women of Worth Utah in 2019.
Kechi is still working through her injuries and continue to affect her day to day. With the help of Extra and the Grossman Burn Foundation, Kechi was introduced to her surgeon Dr. Peter Grossman who performed a new series of surgeries to further Kechi’s recovery. The foundation also partnered with Artists for Trauma to address her eyelids, alleviate tightness at her neck so she can turn her head, and relieve tightness in her arms, so she can lift and move them especially when she sings without limitations.
Just making it through all of this is impressive in itself, but Kechi is a survivor beyond simply being a medical miracle. Kechi has found success despite her circumstances. You may already know of Kechi from her appearance on America’s Got Talent during Season 12 in 2017.
Becoming a finalist on America’s Got Talent 2017 was Kechi’s truest dream realized, and on June 10th 2018, she released her debut single, ‘Don’t You Dare’on all digital music platforms. She has other songs like; all the time, all my love featuring the group known as the; Texas Tenors amongst others and then her self titled album ‘Kechi.’
|She became a burn survivor advocate for multiple organizations, including the hospital she herself was treated at- Shriners Burns Hospitals for Children- now Shriners Children’s TX- Galveston, Texas.
Since then, she has become an active ambassador for multiple organizations such as WEMovement, Be Strong Global and the United Nations Foundation #TOGETHERBAND project, advocating for various global causes such as youth empowerment, bullying prevention advocacy, and sustainable living.
Kechi’s memoir ‘More Than My Scars’ released on March 29th, 2022 under Baker Publishing Group, was forwarded by the legendary Simon Cowell, and her self-titled debut album is currently streaming on all digital music platforms.
Kechi hopes to use her voice and her story to ignite hope all over the world within those that need it.
Life is a journey. Kechi’s life continues to be an amazing journey. She is currently pursuing her M.B.A. and singing remains a passion.
When asked what words of encouragement she wanted to share with the Daily Word audience, she replied:
Keep moving forward. Any obstacles you think are blocking you can be overcome. No matter who and where you are, you are always going to encounter obstacles. Never give up. Someone, somewhere, is going through the same thing, or worse. Later you will look back and see how you were able to make it through, and you’ll find the confidence to overcome any future challenges.
Kechi is now a Nigerian American author and award-winning singer simply because she held onto her faith in God and never gave up despite what looked like a hopeless situation for her. This only means that no matter what has happened to you or what you are going through right now, if you hold on to your faith in God, and pursue your dream, you can achieve anything.
