In 2001, when she was just 14, Rachael Chomba suffered a severe bout of meningitis and malaria that left her unconscious for a week. Fortunately, a shot of quinine revved her back to life, but the episode changed her life forever.
The sensory nerves in her ears had been irreparably damaged, and Chomba found that she was hard of hearing upon consciousness.
Chomba, the youngest of twelve children, had grown up in Kasama, Northern Province, leading a typical childhood–thriving in a mainstream school and dreaming of a future in medicine.
In the immediate aftermath, her family, businesspeople with means, travelled with her to Lusaka to consult ENT specialists. Despite being administered injections to stimulate her auditory nerves, her hearing did not return.
Returning to Kasama mute plunged Chomba into depression. Classroom discussions that were vibrant to her became silent as she became isolated in a quiet world.
For a week, she refused to return to school, convinced that she could not learn without a private tutor. But her father’s unwavering insistence forced her back into the halls of her Grade 10 classroom, where she devised her own survival strategy: copying classmates’ notes and lip-reading their explanations.
“My academic performance did drop after my hearing loss,” Chomba recalls. “I was in grade 10. From being an ‘A’ student to being average. But my mother reminded me that even if I had lost my hearing ability, I still could read, research to understand. She was my drive, if I got any marks below 60 she would be angry, and that pushed me to do better. By the time I was graduating high school, my performance improved.”
Carrying her self-taught techniques into the University of Zambia, Chomba pursued a degree in special education with the same tenacity. With the empathetic lecturers and classmates who shared their notes and included her in study groups, she excelled.
“I graduated with my first degree in 2012 and later with my master’s in 2021, making me the second Deaf female with a master’s degree in Zambia,” she says.
In 2020, determined to reshape perceptions of disability, Chomba founded Youth Enabled Zambia (YEZ). What began as a storytelling blog showcasing success stories quickly evolved into a registered advocacy organisation in 2022, grounded in community-based inclusive development.
YEZ amplifies the voices of young Zambians with disabilities through workshops, peer mentoring, and championing the motto, “Nothing about us without us.”
In just five years, Youth Enabled Zambia has blossomed into a multifaceted advocacy network. Its initiatives include menstrual-hygiene campaigns that have distributed sanitary supplies to over 700 learners with disabilities across more than a dozen schools and inclusive-leadership workshops that have engaged over 1,000 young people across five provinces.
Its Zambia Deaf Models project showcases the talents of hearing-impaired girls, with representatives participating in international pageants in Dar es Salaam.
YEZ’s online platform has published over 100 success stories, shifting public perception from viewing persons with disabilities to recognising their achievements.
Through partnerships, such as the Federation of Sign Language Interpreters and Translators of Zambia, YEZ has helped train over 30 professional interpreters for school and healthcare settings.
These efforts have developed significant outcomes: YEZ’s research briefs helped secure a 10 per cent national school enrolment quota for learners with disabilities, and local media mentions of persons with disabilities in positive contexts have increased by 25 per cent over the past years.
The Zambian Deaf Models initiative, launched by YEZ in 2021, uses fashion, art and performance to build confidence and visibility for girls with impaired hearing. Each year, applicants from all provinces undergo a six-week training bootcamp covering public speaking, personal branding, inclusive choreography and more.
In its first year, two families represented Zambia at the Happy Deaf World Family in Dar es Salaam, celebrated not only for their stage presence but also for their advocacy. Since then, over 50 Deaf models have participated in local showcases integrated with disabililty-rights workshops, making every runway event a platform for policy dialogue.
However, Chomba emphasizes that sustainable change requires legislative action. “We need a sign language bill,” she asserts, calling on the government to mandate the presence of interpreters in essential public services, especially in healthcare and legal environments.
“If your knowledge is not backed by legal documentation, it is very, very difficult to argue an agenda,” she warns.
Deaf organisations across Zambia continue to rally around this cause, advocating tirelessly for a future where communication is no longer a privilege for the hearing but a right guaranteed to all.
Chomba’s leadership extends beyond YEZ. She was elected Board Secretary of the Zambia National Association for Women with Disabilities in 2019 (later Vice-Treasurer), Youth Chairperson of ZAFOD in 2020 and re-elected Women’s Representative in 2024, and joined the Commonwealth Disabled Peoples Forum in 2022.
She also co-founded the Federation of Sign Language Interpreters and Translators of Zambia to professionalise interpretation services, insisting that health and education institutions must employ qualified interpreters to dismantle communication barriers.
Her advocacy has yielded real change: a 10% quota for learners with disabilities in national schools, emergent sign-language training in hospitals and media outlets, and increased awareness of Deaf potentials evidenced by Chomba’s own role as a part-time university lecturer.
Despite persistent funding challenges, she remains undeterred: “Without a strong support system, many don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. My faith and my family gave me the will to live and now I use my story to light the way for others.”
Today, at 35, Chomba balances her roles as a special education teacher, a human-rights advocate, a founder and a part-time lecturer at the University of Zambia.
Motherhood has added another dimension to her resilience. With two sons, aged eight and six, she navigates the challenges of parenting without the luxury of auditory cues, relying instead on her sharpened visual awareness and maternal intuition. Her children learn not only to speak but also to sign.
Through it all, Chomba remains profoundly grateful to the doctor whose quinine saved her life, explaining that she has never blamed him for her hearing loss, though it cost her hearing; to her parents, whose unwavering support and high expectations honed her intellect; and to the faith that carries her through moments of despair.
She acknowledges the mental-health struggles that accompanied her silence but insists that community and open dialogue can avert such crises for others who lose their hearing later in life.
To strengthen her advocacy with depth and credibility, Rachael Chomba has consistently invested in expanding her academic and professional expertise. Understanding that impactful activism must be grounded in informed perspectives, she has pursued additional training beyond her degrees.
These qualifications not only enhance her ability to engage with diverse stakeholders but also ensure that her work remains rooted in global standards and best practices for disability inclusion. Through this continued learning, Rachael reinforces her role as a well-informed, strategic voice in Zambia’s disability movement.
Rachael Chomba, who became hard of hearing after surviving meningitis and malaria at age 14, is a remarkable advocate for people with disabilities in Zambia. Despite the challenges following her hearing loss, she pursued her education with resilience, achieving a master’s degree in special education. In 2020, she founded Youth Enabled Zambia (YEZ), an advocacy organization that supports young people with disabilities through workshops, mentoring, and initiatives like menstrual-hygiene campaigns and inclusive-leadership workshops.
YEZ has made significant impacts, such as securing a school enrollment quota for learners with disabilities and increasing media mentions of persons with disabilities in a positive light. Additionally, Rachael co-founded the Federation of Sign Language Interpreters in Zambia, contributing to the training of professional interpreters and advocating for legislative support for sign language use in public services. Her leadership extends to roles such as Board Secretary of the Zambia National Association for Women with Disabilities and participation in the Commonwealth Disabled Peoples Forum.
Rachael's advocacy, underscored by her own experiences and extensive training in disability issues, human rights, and inclusive education, is driven by her belief in the power of community and dialogue to overcome mental health struggles related to hearing loss. Despite ongoing challenges, including funding, Rachael's contributions as a teacher, advocate, and part-time lecturer significantly advance the visibility and rights of people with disabilities in Zambia. Her personal journey, professional achievements, and commitment to inclusive development continue to illuminate pathways for others facing similar challenges.
