LUMBIE MLAMBO

CEO and Founder at JB Dondolo Inc.

By Jules Lavallee

You are an Advocate for clean water and empowering women to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. Tell us about your work.

No one can live a healthy and fulfilled life without clean water. On the most part, our bodies are made of water, so I can’t imagine anyone going without it. Water is a human right! It is a basic necessity. Everyone deserves equal access to clean water. The ethical issues that women and girls face with water can be helped. All it takes is action. So, my organization JB Dondolo, Inc. focuses on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are in line with our mission: SDG 1 – No Poverty, SDG 5 – Gender Equity, and SDG 6 – Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene. We know that women and girls in underserved and impoverished communities are the most disadvantaged. Collection of water heavily relies on women who must walk miles to fetch water. So, addressing water first, solves the issue.

At one of JB Dondolo’s projects at Matobo Hills, women and girls walk up to 18 miles a day to fetch water for their families. This leaves women with no time for anything else. So, how can girls go to school when they have to assist with the collection of water? At school, there are no facilities with water for girls to care for themselves, especially during menstruation periods. The lack of education puts them deeper in poverty. So, if we’re to close the gender equality gap, we need to focus on women and girls first. To me, the best way to solve the problem is to start with water.

We provide access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene so everyone can pursue a better and more equitable life. When everyone is healthy, they live fulfilled lives. By helping women and girls, we help the whole family as well. When women and girls get them out of the cycle of poverty, they can focus on other things such as entrepreneurship and education to improve and advance themselves.

Share your background. Who inspired you to help others?

My background is in technology and philanthropy. However, I’m a mother and wife first. I graduated from Indiana University South Bend and Texas Woman’s University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and a minor in Mathematics. I’ve been working in IT for

Lumbie Mlambo

some time now and I love it. However, I’m called to do something greater than myself to help people in need. Empathy is in my DNA and most likely has everything to do with my upbringing in Zimbabwe, Africa.

Looking back at my life journey, I’ll have to say my parents were a huge inspiration to me and in shaping me to be the person I am today. I was never a philanthropist, but I feel like I’ve found my purpose. I did not choose to advocate for clean water. It’s just that I stumbled upon the water issue by accident. The water crisis exposes the ethical issues women and girls face today. So, I feel I have a duty to play my part to uplift those in need.

Through my work with water, I’ve met experts and scientists and learned a lot from them. Every day I learn something new and apply what I learn. My background in technology is a big plus because we live in a digital world where things change fast, and we have to act and adapt quickly so we thrive.

Tell us about your nonprofit, Dondolo, Inc. What are the initiatives of 2021?

JB Dondolo, Inc. is a nonprofit organization founded by Dondolo’s children in November 2012. The organization is named after the late father, JB Dondolo, an orphan, farmer, and humanitarian advocate whose values and principles on giving continue to inspire his children, friends, and families across the world. JB Dondolo played a critical role in the fight against poverty in his community and Dondolo’s children saw the need to form this organization in honor of their father, so his legacy of good deeds continues.

Our mission is to remove barriers of access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene in underserved and impoverished communities to reduce poverty and promote gender equity. We see a world where clean water is not an obstacle to pursuing a better and more equitable life.

The following are our 2021 initiatives:

• Music for Water – This is an annual international music competition to find a song that is water-inspired while we benefit a community in need. This year I’m happy to say we’ve partnered with Viva Con Agua Music to expand and benefit Skid Row with sanitary and hygiene products. The top song winners get a one-time distribution deal with Grand Mountain International Records (G.M.I.R.).

• Matobo Hills Water – This initiative is in Zimbabwe, Africa, where women (mostly widows) lack access to clean water. They walk more up to 18 miles a day to fetch water. We have engaged our ground manager Dot Bekker and our value partner National University of Science and Technology (NUST) to assist with testing of water in the lab so that we know how to proceed. There is currently no infrastructure. We’re in the process of digging boreholes and installing hand pumps. We’re making sure these boreholes are located in the community, so women and girls don’t have to walk miles to get water. We’re also exploring the possibility of restoring wetlands as this would offer more value to the community. Our long-term goal is to build the infrastructure and bring water directly to every household as well as create jobs through tourism.

• Sweet Compassion – This initiative is all year around and nationally in the USA. We are showing empathy and compassion to the underserved communities and frontline workers who sacrifice their lives for all of us. Together with our youth ambassadors “2 Brothers in a Kitchen” and partners “Vi Bella”, “Fashion Community Foundation” and “Disinfect & Shield” we are delivering cookies, face masks and hand sanitizers to underserved communities across the nation.

People can help by visiting https:// jbdondolo.org to make a donation to support any of our initiatives or contact JB Dondolo team at team@jbdondolo.org. We’re always looking for helpers, angel donors, advisors, and interns.

What do you want people to know about the people of Zimbabwe?

I want people to know that the ancient civilizations, rich nature, and history keep Zimbabweans rooted to their traditions and norms. Zimbabweans share a common thread somewhere that keeps everyone together. Although they all have different personalities and strengths, they take pride in their shared dreams and visions. They are competent individuals who believe in creating and building positive change together for a better future. Each person is unique and adds value to the core system. In general, Zimbabweans are generous people who welcome you into their homes.

As a UN advocate and active supporter of the United Nations’ Global Goals, what are the challenges you are seeing?

We want to end inequalities and poverty in all its forms everywhere, period. This effort is a huge undertaking by humanitarians and all sectors that have to interact to ensure we achieve this goal. More than 700 million people live in extreme poverty, lacking the most basic needs such as health, education, and access to water and sanitation, to name a few. Unfortunately, the pandemic has made things worse and put us decades behind. We need to have more empathy and more participation globally because the only way to solve the inequality and poverty issues are to work together “collectively” with one goal and one mission. We need to pull our resources together and continue to raise awareness, so more people get involved.

Lumbie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ lumbie-mlambo-7ab65019/

JB Dondolo: https://www.linkedin.com/ company/2874343/admin/ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ jbdondolo Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ jbdondolo Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ jbdondol

Jules Lavallee

International Celebrity Journalist