Giving Compass' Take:

• Maxwell Mumba is a 23-year-old activist that started working with children with HIV/AIDS and began to address malnutrition issues.

• How can philanthropists support the work of young international activists and invest in more opportunities for young people to grow, innovate, and give back to their countries? 

• Read about the importance of investing in African youth leadership and development. 

Coming from the most humble beginnings, Zambian food and nutrition activist Maxwell Mumba has devoted his young life to uplifting other young people and spreading the importance of health and nutrition in his community — and one day, he hopes, in other countries, too.

Mumba, now 23, began his journey in the nutrition industry in high school, becoming involved in clubs that worked to highlight the dangers of health issues within his community.

It prompted him to start volunteering and training in advocacy at a local NGO called CITAM Plus, a community initiative fighting tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other life-threatening diseases.

Mumba was chosen by the Centre for Infectious Disease Research Zambia (CIDRZ) to be an educator, and counsel youth who are currently living with HIV/AIDS.  In his first day on the job, he counselled over 69 children and created a safe space for them to speak openly and freely about their struggles living with the disease.

But while working with children living with HIV/AIDS, Mumba started to notice how malnourished they were.  This harrowing experience along with his concerns around youth with HIV/AIDS,  are what drove him to use different media platforms to work to raise awareness in his community about the importance of nutrition.

After such a sad experience, Mumba created outreach programmes that taught the importance of food and nutrition in his community.

“It’s very important for the youth to be involved in the implementations of change because we are the future leaders of tomorrow,” he said. “We still have the drive and we are the majority. The current decisions which are being made today will have a great impact on our future and generations to come.”

Read the full article about an activist in Zambia by Hlumelo Siphe Williams at Global Citizen