JB Dondolo, Inc.

We are applying for The Elevate Prize to help an underserved and impoverished community in Zimbabwe, consisting of mainly widows, with portable, safe drinking water so that women and girls get out of the cycle of poverty. Currently, lack of clean water is an obstacle to pursuing a better and more equitable life for this neglected community. 

If selected as a winner, we would use The Elevate Prize funding for community development and improvements. This includes water testing, boreholes, wetland restoration, water filtration systems and pipes, storage tanks, water harvesting technology, shower and toilet facilities, censors and mobile alert systems for monitoring and maintenance, water, sanitation, and hygiene education training materials, and labor.

I am the youngest of 10 children born to an orphaned father who never went to school and a mother who was a teacher. I grew up in rural parts of Zimbabwe and later moved to the U.S. in my teenage years to pursue education so I could make a difference.

I founded JB Dondolo, Inc. in 2012 and named it after my father who played a critical role in the fight against poverty in his community. This organization keeps my father’s legacy of good deeds alive.

We believe in the legacy of helping marginalized communities as we know everyone deserves the chance to have a better life. We believe this legacy will help advance equity, enrich lives, and create a positive ripple effect for future generations to come. 

Our mission and purpose 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 work in the U.S. and Zimbabwe. We are proud supporters of the United Nations and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and our goals are to advance SDG 1: No Poverty, SDG 5: Gender Equality, and SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

Roughly 65% of Zimbabwe’s population does not have access to adequate sanitation and 67% of rural areas do not have access to water due to severe drought or floods. Women and girls bear the responsibility of collecting water in underserved communities. In Matobo Hills/Silozwi community of 400 homesteads, Zimbabwe, women and girls walk 18 miles each day to attain water. The water they fetch is unsafe for human consumption but to survive they are left with no other choice. Humans and livestock drink out of the same muddy pond. Having potable water close to their residences would prevent sicknesses, girls can attend school, and women can pursue careers.

Our organization provides access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene. We conduct geophysical tests to detect groundwater and collect relevant samples to determine water quality in the lab. Then, we dig boreholes and install water pipes to transport water to storage tanks, all near the residences. For maintenance and proactivity, we will install censors and create monitor systems to send alerts to community leaders on their mobile devices when water quality falls below acceptable levels. This will keep the community engaged to act fast and address issues before any damages are made.

What makes our work unique is that no one else is serving this community, and no one else has the trust built up that our organization has over 9 years in this entire province led by a native Zimbabwean woman. On our projects we work with local engineers, local scientists, and local community leaders to put women and girls at the center of its rebuilding and recovery efforts to close the gender equality gap. Our work to tackle this water issue will be better than what exists because it is sustainable to enact lasting change with demonstrated outcomes designed to scale across the country. We document our work, lessons learned, and make recommendations as action plan to further improve the community. 

We executed a similar project by installing a water filtration system in Igusi, Zimbabwe, serving 20,000+ citizens. We’ve seen how successful this project was in restoring dignity to women and girls. This intervention was implemented at a birthing clinic which shares its water system with a secondary school. Mothers are now able to give birth at full-term, and infant mortality is no longer an issue in this region. Girls also attend school even during menstruation periods.

The Water for Widows project serves 90,000+ people. We will focus on Silozwi community so that women and girls can lead productive lives to reach their full potential. Clean water means sanitation facilities have water so more girls can stay in school during menstruation. An educated woman is likely to find economic opportunities outside home. We will introduce sustainability programs for women and girls who will learn new skills and be encouraged to become leaders and entrepreneurs, economically benefiting Matobo Hills and globally.

With the availability of potable water, women will have the opportunity to participate and play a pivotal role in the economy, fostering social inclusion. This addresses inequitable practices while lifting this marginalized community out of poverty.