Marvin Musekiwa: How an 18km bicycle ride became a mission to leave no young person behind
An 18km bicycle ride during the COVID-19 lockdown became the turning point in Marvin Musekiwa’s journey to serving vulnerable young people.
In 2020, as lockdown restrictions made it difficult for young people living with HIV in his community to travel to health facilities, some began missing clinic appointments and defaulting on their medication. At the same time, some young people at risk of HIV were left without access to prevention services.
Musekiwa decided to act.
He collected clinic cards from young people who could not travel and cycled 18km to collect their medication, helping ensure they remained connected to life-saving treatment.
That bicycle ride became the foundation of Action for Youth Foundation Trust and a commitment that continues to shape his work today: bringing HIV services closer to communities and ensuring that no young person is left behind.
Musekiwa founded the organisation at the age of 22 and is now the Executive Director. Since establishing Action for Youth Foundation Trust, Musekiwa says the organisation has retained 2,658 young people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and established 14 Group Safe Spaces at healthcare centres.
The organisation has also empowered 190 young people living with HIV through economic-strengthening initiatives, supporting them to sustain income-generating activities.
Through HIV self-testing and prevention services, the organisation has reached a further 1,450 young people. For Musekiwa, the work extends beyond HIV services. Having grown up as an orphan himself, he established an orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) project supporting 3,260 children with food, clothing, school fees and mentorship.
He has also mentored 42 staff members in NGO management and monitoring and evaluation, helping strengthen their capacity to deliver sustainable community programmes.
His journey, which began with a bicycle ride to help young people access their medication, has grown into a wider community-based response focused on health, economic empowerment and support for vulnerable children. He is also a semi-finalist under the Humanitarian Impact Award.
Being named a finalist for The List Awards 2026 Humanitarian Impact Award is, for Musekiwa, a recognition of that journey.
He described the nomination as validation of a community-driven effort that began with a bicycle ride and has since reached thousands of young people, “Being a finalist for The List Awards 2026 Humanitarian Impact Award validates our community-driven journey that started with a bicycle ride,” he said.
He said the recognition honours the young people retained on treatment and the thousands of others reached through the organisation’s programmes, “It honours the 2,658 young people retained on treatment and thousands more we serve,” he said.
For Musekiwa, the recognition also represents an opportunity to highlight youth-led humanitarian work from Zimbabwe and strengthen his commitment to supporting young people.
“It means global recognition for Zimbabwean youth-led humanitarian action and fuels my commitment to leave no young person behind in HIV response and empowerment,” he said.
But the work does not depend on the outcome of the awards.
Musekiwa said the organisation’s future remains focused on expanding youth safe spaces, strengthening economic empowerment and bringing HIV services closer to communities.
“Winning or losing, the future remains focused on impact,” he said.
From a single 18km bicycle ride to thousands of young people reached, Musekiwa’s journey reflects how one response to an urgent community need can grow into a sustained commitment to service.