1. Felix Simulun ga
Zambia
My life changing story
I was born in Mbala, in the northern part of Zambia, in 1970 on the 20 th
of
November in a polygamous family of 17 people i.e. a father, two mothers and
14 children. My father was a mechanic working for Mechanical Services Branch
(retired in 1990) and my mother
was and is still a marketeer
selling things like tomato and
other vegetables on a very small
scale. Both my father and mother
are of a humble educational
background.
I became a polio victim at the
age of 2 years which has left my
lower limbs physically paralysed
for the rest of my life. With lack of devices like crutches and wheelchairs, I
used to craw on the ground to
move from one place to another.
My disability received a lot of
mixed reactions in my family with my mother taking more blame for my state.
I was regarded as a person who was going to be dependent on my parents for
the rest of my life. My father never thought that it was meaningful to educate
a disabled person.
Once in a while, we could gather as a family and my father would start
narrating what he
expected of each
child - to get
educated and
when it was my
turn he could look
at me with
sympathy and say
"as for you my
son, don't worry. Since you can't go to school,
we will ensure that we look after you till our
death". This remark, though innocently made,
was as a result of the general notion that people
My life changing story Page 1
My humble parents home in Mbala – where I was born
and brought up with the rest of the family. Both my father
and two mothers are still alive
My father (right) with his brother
My mum (right) and step mum (left)
enjoying the local brew at home in
Mbala

2. have against persons with disabilities as people who cannot do anything in life
for themselves apart from being cared for.
However, despite this background, my mother - with her humble education -
saw the need to have me educated and, with protest from my father, decided
to send me to school. In 1978, after undergoing an operation on my lower
limbs, I started my Grade one (1) at Chileshe Chepela Wansongo School for
the Disabled in Kasama in the Northern part of Zambia. My hard work at
school saw me by-pass Grade 4 and went straight to Grade 5. I later went to
Grade eight (8) at Kasama Boys Secondary School where I did my junior
secondary school education i.e. from Grade 8 up to Grade 9.
I completed my senior secondary school education in 1988 at Mungwi
Secondary Technical School with good results. In 1989 I went into the School
of Natural Sciences at the University of Zambia (UNZA). My aim was to major
in Mathematics but a year later I failed to go through to the next stage after
failing in two subjects. The failing was because of the inhibitive architectural
barriers in the University Campus which rendered my mobility from one place
to the other very difficult. A few months before I left the University of Zambia,
two disabled colleagues of mine – Chola Kafwabulula (now CEO at Food
Reserve Agency) and Dr. Felix Silwimba (now Director General at Zambia
Agency for Persons with Disabilities) helped me secure my first wheelchair
courtesy of the Finnish government.
After leaving UNZA, I stayed with my brother in Chingola for three years from
1990 to 1993 after which I enrolled for a
three year Diploma Course in Computer
Studies at Evelyn Hone College which I
finished in 1995.
Immediately after finishing my course I
was employed by
an organization
calling itself Hands
Ministries (Z) Ltd
as a Computer
Instructor. In 1997
I left Hands and
worked on temporal basis with a programme under the
Zambia Federation of the Disabled (ZAFOD) called
Advocacy And Action Zambia (AAAZ) whose major aim
was to advocate for the implementation of the United
Nations Standard Rules on the Equalisation of
Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.
My life changing story Page 2
During the Hone Graduation Ceremony
where I received my Diploma in Computer
Studies.

3. I eventually joined ZAFOD itself as Administrative Secretary in June 1998 on a
two-year renewable contract. Two years later, I was promoted as Chief
Executive of the organization when the position fell vacant and held that
position up to December 2010 when I resigned to go and manage my private
business namely a private school – Simfex Academy – which I own and run.
My work at the helm of the Zambia Federation of the Disabled was very
challenging and also interesting. At the time I took the position of Chief
Executive of ZAFOD, I was the only employee in the organization and realizing
that for us to respond effectively and efficiently to the many challenges facing
the organization, we had to have sufficient resources.
With the help of many partners such as POWER International of UK, Finnish
Disabled Peoples International Development Association (FIDIDA), Action on
Disability and Development (ADD), Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled
(SAFOD), Norwegian International Aid Agency (NORAD), United States Agency
for International Development (USAID), Irish Aid and other partners, ZAFOD
grew from 1 person in 2000 to 25 persons in 2010 at the time I left the
organization;
Together with my colleagues we managed to increase the number of projects
that ZAFOD was running as well as its annual income from the initial amount
of US$20,000 to US$500,000 due to successful project proposal formulation
and implementation;
Also taking into consideration ZAFOD’s aim of alleviating the mobility
problems being experienced by persons with physical disabilities, I managed
to mobilize more than 100 wheelchairs and distributed them country- wide to
various individuals with disabilities;
I spearheaded, for the first time in the history of Zambia, the participation of
persons with disabilities in the 2001 Electoral process, review of the Electoral
Act as well as formulation of the Fifth National Development Plan;
Through ZAFOD advocacy programmes, under my planning, implementation
and supervision, we saw for the first time in the history of Zambia politicians
and other stakeholders openly talk about issues of persons with disabilities at
many fora with some political parties including in their manifestos and
constitutions issues on disability.
I led a process of formulating a National Plan of Action (NPA) on disability in
Zambia using participatory methodologies involving a team of 64 field workers
in an exercise that covered a total of 22 districts in all the 10 provinces of
Zambia with wide consultations involving 1,655 people from all walks of life.
I also coordinated a team of professionals from the University of Zambia
Institute for Economic and Social Research (INESOR), Central Statistical Office
(CSO), SINTEF Health Research Foundation in Norway and Organizations of
Persons with Disabilities in Zambia in carrying out a national- wide study on the
Living Conditions among Persons with Disabilities.
My life changing story Page 3

4. I was lead Consultant in the inclusion of Disability and Development issues in
the Zambian Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP) 2006 to 2010 where for
the first time in the history of the nation, disability issues became part of the
national agenda and were allocated a sum of ZMK167.9 billion for
implementation.
I was among a group of 3 persons with disabilities that represented Disabled
Peoples Organizations at the 500 plus membership National Constitutional
Conference in 2007 to 2010 that sat to review the Zambian Constitution with a
view to coming up with a new one.
From the period 1999 to 2010, I also traveled to a number of countries within
and outside Africa representing the organization I was working for and also
sometimes as a representative of the Zambian government on various
disability and development issues.
Some of the countries I visited included the United States of America –
Independent Living Conference,
Swaziland – Leadership Training
Workshop, Lesotho – Small Scale
Enterprises for Economic Development
Programme, Sweden – Conference on
Electoral Access Issues, Zimbabwe –
Managers’ Workshop and also the
Assessment on Situation of Persons
with Disabilities, Uganda – Assessment
on Situation of Persons with
Disabilities, Japan & Thailand – Study
Tour on how to Mainstream Disability
Issues, Botswana – Workshop on Youth
Development and also Workshop on
streamlining a SEED Programme in Southern Africa, Britain – Resource
mobilization on disability and development in Zambia, Mozambique –
Presentation of Zambian experiences in the Mozambique National Plan of
Action, South Africa – International Conference on Disability and Rehabilitation
as well as Resource mobilization on disability and development in Zambia and
also visited the USA as a representative of the Zambian government on the
formulation and monitoring of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities.
As I was building the capacity of ZAFOD and successfully implementing its
various programmes, I also did not
lose sight of developing my private
interests where I could fall back on at
a time I decided to leave employment.
Through my salaries, allowances,
consultancies and other business
My life changing story Page 4
Felix with 2 brothers & 2 nephews enjoying their
stay at a 1 roomed house on the plot he bought.
The Simulunga Residence built with support from
POWER International of UK
Felix with 2 brothers & 2 nephews enjoying their
stay at a 1 roomed house on the plot he bought.
Felix – at Bleinhei m Palace in the UKFelix – at Blen h eim Palace in t h e UK

5. initiatives, I managed to secure a plot in the Chelstone area in 2004 on which I
slowly started building my first house.
On a personal level, POWER International came to my rescue through
individual interventions from the then Chairperson – Robin Heal, the Chief
Executive Sarah Hodge and other people in POWER International who
contributed significantly to the
construction of my own house where
am currently living and at peace with
myself since rentals of accessible housing in Lusaka were becoming out of my
reach and unsustainable for me and my family.
POWER International also went ahead and brought
me independent living through the acquisition of a
motorized wheelchair which has enabled me to be
versatile in the way of doing things from 2006 to
date.
After building the residential house where we
currently stay, we still remained with a big yard.
Having tested the joy of building, I embarked on
building another
house in 2006
which I completed
in 2008. This is a
block of 7 rooms
one of which I
converted into my
office. In 2008 I
made a decision to start a school, and with
advice from the Ministry of Education, I
registered Simfex Academy with the Patents
and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA). In 2010, I opened the business
bank account. In January 2011 I advertised for jobs of teachers and general
workers as well as enrolments for school places from Nursery School to Grade
Four. On 10th
January 2011, the school was opened to the public with 20 pupils
and 3 teachers.
At the same time, and this time with loans from Barclays Bank, Citizens
Economic Empowerment Commission and later with Investrust Bank Zambia
Plc, I started building the third house comprising
of 8 classrooms, 1 kitchen, 1 strong room, 2
store rooms and a block of 12 toilets.
My life changing story Page 5
The Simulunga Residence built with
suppor t fro m POWER Interna tional of
UK
Felix - w it h h is son Teza -
en joy in g t h e f r u it s of
p ar en t h ood w it h t h e h elp
of a m ot or ized w h eelch air
d on at ed b y POW ER
In t er n at ion al
The first group of pupils and teachers
The first staff at Simfex Academy Pupils playing in clean environment

6. During the same year, the gravel road from
Great East Road going towards Kalimba Farms
and along where our school is located was tarred
by the Zambian government. This move
improved the value and accessibility of our place
and attracted more pupils to our school forcing
us to start offering educational services from
Pre-School to Grade 6 in 2011. The enrolments
increased to 97 pupils by the end of 2011.
During the same year, we started offering evening tuitions from Grade 1 up to
Grade 12. Our teaching staff also increased from 3 to 7.
In 2012 we went up to Grade 7 and all the 7 pupils who went through our
tutorship passed their Grade 7 exams with flying colours. In 2013 we opened
classes for Grades 8 and 9 and currently we have pupils who attend our
regular day time classes from Pre-School to Grade 9 numbering more than 250
and those who attend evening tuitions numbering more than 100. We have a
total of 13 fully qualified teachers ranging from certificate to degree holders.
We also have 3 administrators and 4 general workers. We also have
volunteers. All Simfex Academy staff are running their own homes and are
looking after big families.
Resources allowing, we have plans of going all the way up to Grade 12 and
also offering skills in various ventures such as tailoring and designing,
computers, carpentry and bricklaying, among others.
As far as personal development is concerned, I am studying for a Diploma in
Entrepreneurship and Business Management (DEBM) by Distance Education
offered by the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India in
collaboration with Luanshya Teachers Vocational Training College. I will
complete this course this November. I have also enrolled for a Bachelors
Degree Programme in Arts Majoring in Public Administration with a Minor in
Economics by Distance Education at the University of Zambia (UNZA).
However, I am still facing serious accessibility challenges with UNZA at the
moment.
On the family level, I am married to a beautiful
Zambian lady – Mary Tembo - and has three
beautiful children, a daughter of 10 years (Niza
Simulunga), a son of 5 years (Teza Simulunga)
and a daughter of 3 years (Visuule Simulunga).
We have been married for the past fourteen
years.
In addition to the three children, my wife and I
are also looking after a huge family of 15
brothers, sisters, cousins, nieces and nephews.
And out of the 17 members of the family, I am
My life changing story Page 6
Felix (on wheelchair), Wife,
Daughter & Brother at Victoria
The first staff at Simfex Academy

7. among the very few that my parents look up to for significant financial help. I
am proud of these responsibilities as they are a proof that a person with a
disability is not a useless being but that given the right empowerment we can
prove to be an asset to our families and the nation as a whole.
For me to be where I am, there is a chain of people who have played a
significant role in my life. Apart from my mother, father, my wife, my brothers
and sisters, and those that I have mentioned earlier, others that I can quickly
recall include Charles Makumba at Secondary School, Friday Kafula in College
and Lango Sinkamba, Euphrasia Mbewe, Stephen Njobvu, Paradious Sakala,
Elijah Ngwale, Mackenzie Mbewe, Chola Kafwabulula, Dr. Felix Silwimba,
Miyoba Hamuhuma, Justine Simutowe and Emmanuel Mbita. I also pay tribute
to all my members of staff at Simfex Academy for their hard work and
commitment to duties without which we wouldn’t have become one of the best
private schools in the Chelstone area.
My life changing story Page 7