Rumbidzai Mapfumo

Rumbi still works at her host organization, CESHHAR, and remains focused on ensuring that sex workers receive comprehensive health care throughout Zimbabwe. Rumbi did volunteer work in 2011 with TESHE Young Women’s Movement in Zimbabwe and also assisted at TESHE and worked on the film, Odyssey from Student to Sex Worker. Rumbi is a social worker, and her parents are founders of a church; this has guided her advocacy for marginalized populations and HIV.

Fellowship Focus
Rumbi advocated for the scale-up of ARV treatment among sex workers, directly facilitating and supporting their mobilization. She developed a draft of Treatment Guidelines for Sex Workers, promoted sex workers’ voices in different ministries and established circles to ensure that sex workers, civil society, policy makers, service providers and other key stakeholders have conversations that support sex workers to test, seek care and treatment and to optimize the benefits of ART for both prevention and treatment.

In Their Own Words
I learned to study politicians so as to get what you want: spend time going through their speeches to know what words they use and like, read about them and get to know them, make them feel special.

Where Are They Now?
Learn what Rumbi is up to today.