Zuleika Knowles

Project development coordinator

Zuleika graduated with a 1st class degree in Linguistics from The University of Leeds in 2018. Her interest in language disorders lead her into support work for adults with brain injury, and educational support for children with autism and developmental delays. After University, she spent 3 months in Northern Uganda, coordinating vocational skills training events for disabled youth groups in rural communities. During this time she met with many families and learnt about the harmful isolation many disabled children were experiencing, and became aware of the total lack of support services available.

Joining Disability Africa in 2024, she brings several years experience working in corporate strategy and project development within Local Government and Adult Social Care Sectors in the United Kingdom. Most recently, Zuleika managed an employment program for learning disabled adults, including overseeing a social enterprise, designing and delivering an employment curriculum and successfully supporting a large caseload of adults into work. Having travelled, worked and volunteered around several Eastern African countries, including supporting an organization for children with cerebral palsy in Tanzania, and working in a hospitality management role in Mozambique, she is experienced working cross-cullturally, and passionate about developing services that work effectively for the communities they serve.