By Jules Lavallee 

Lumbie Mlambo is an UNA Women’s member, Global Goodwill Ambassador, and a United Nations Global Water Partner, she is an active advocate for clean water and empowering women and girls to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. 

Inspired by her orphaned father who never went to school but served as a revered humanitarian in his local community, Lumbie took the leap to continue her father’s legacy. As a result of her dedicated actions in serving the Igusi, Zimbabwe, community, she started the 501(c)(3) nonprofit JB Dondolo, Inc., after her father’s namesake. JB Dondolo, Inc.’s mission is to remove barriers of access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene in underserved and impoverished communities to help reduce poverty and promote gender equity.

Share your background.

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 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.

As a UN advocate and active supporter of the United Nations, you are passionate about clean water and empowering women and girls to lead healthy lives. Tell us how you accomplish this. 

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.

What project is your organization working on now? What impact will it have in the community?

We currently have the Music for Water competition which represents a campaign that streams water and music together with the intent to align the mission of JB Dondolo and Viva con Agua to remove barriers of access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene for underserved communities. The Music for Water sets itself apart from other song competitions as a charitable campaign that serves to leverage the “universal medium and ambassador” of music to ignite a greater awareness of the importance of potable water around the globe. Women and girls benefit greatly from this musical competition as the campaign serves as a protagonist to improving gender equity through the connection to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene. We recognize the immediate need to raise funds to help those in dire need. Therefore, the recipient of the funds raised with this campaign this year is Skid Row in Los Angeles, California, USA. with the homeless population of 10,000.

Are there any organizations you’ve partnered with on clean water? How can anyone or other organizations help you?

We are partners with the UN Global Water Partnership (GWP). Also, the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) is our value partner for water testing. For our annual Music for Water competition, we’ve partnered with Viva con Agua – a global initiative for clean water, sanitation and hygiene that uses the universal languages of art, music and sports to create social impact and raise awareness in a positive and respectful way, Disinfect & Shield – a disinfecting company that will provide hand sanitizers and disinfecting products, I Support the Girls – an organization that collects and distributes essential items such as menstrual hygiene products, to help us reach more people experiencing homelessness, impoverishment, or distress to stand tall with dignity, and Grand Mountain International Records (G.M.I.R.) – our partner record label company who provides a single distribution deal for the top three (3) song winners. 

Other organizations can help by donating to any of our initiatives online at https://jbdondolo.org reaching or reaching out to us at team@jbdondolo.org to discuss ways to help.

What is your goal his year? 

My goal is the growth of JB Dondolo to ensure we impact more communities in need and see more women uplifted and more girls go to school. There is a rise of women’s movements across the globe to address the issues women face with gender equality. I hope to engage in meaningful and constructive conversations that help to push the needle so that together we can close the gender equality gap and provide women a larger space to play. My hope is that we are effective as changemakers and innovators and create different kinds of opportunities for women and girls.

LinkedIn: 

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jbdondolo 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jbdondolo 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jbdondolo

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