LAWUNA

This open-source technology monitors and detects macro pollutants on the shores of freshwater bodies using real-time drone and smartphone imagery.

In this case, Lake Victoria shores. Lake Victoria is the second-largest freshwater lake in the world and the first largest freshwater lake in Africa, inhabiting over 40 million people with an average population density of 250 people per square kilometer. It acts as an affluent of River Kagera and a confluence with River Nile, the longest in the world. With several cities, industries built on the banks of Lake Victoria, untreated waste is drained into the lake in addition to un-recycled objects are littered into the same water body.

Thus, affecting life below water, communities we live in, our health, the air we breathe, and affecting the environment. Our solution helps build a data repository where action can be ignited and communities empowered by better decisions and policies from stakeholders.

Water bodies and air have been exploited by excessive carbon and waste
pollution by both man-kind and industries built day and night. Oceans
and freshwater bodies alone, absorb about 30 percent of the carbon dioxide
produced by humans, and we are seeing a 26 percent rise in ocean acidification since the beginning of the industrial revolution yet more
than 3 billion people globally depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for
their livelihoods and little open-source solutions have been developed
to curb this danger.

Plastic waste has had a major impact on communities living on the shores of Lake Victoria in various ways from littering the landscape, clogging waterways and drainage systems, increasing the frequency and severity of dangerous flooding, which creates breeding grounds for mosquitos carrying malaria-causing diseases as well as water-borne diseases, and sneaking into food supplies being a danger to the livelihoods of natives.

With 40+ million people living on the shores of Lake Victoria, this puts them at risk since more water bodies connect to it carrying the same negative environmental and water impacts with them.

We have developed an open-source technology that is able to monitor and detect macro contaminants on the shores of freshwater bodies. This innovation works by attaching software to drones that will fly over the shores of Lake Victoria in Uganda.

Drones capture images of macro contaminants in real-time, that is to say, plastics, polythene bags, or drainage waste then together with their Geographic Position Satellite (GPS) coordinates, these images are sent on a server.

Servers with our software algorithms then process, classify, map and visualization these images in “real-time” so that we are able to view, detect, analyze and monitor the occurrence, spread, and their origin via an interactive dashboard.

The same algorithms run via smartphones so that community members can be involved in the process of restoring the ecosystem of their communities.

Sensors will be added later on such that we can identify the source of these macro pollutants and their density as they float on these water bodies.

By so doing, we will engage policymakers, change-makers, industrialists as well as community members in a dialogue where better open decisions will be made and people taught on the dangers of water pollution. Thus, changing the world for the better.

We are targeting 40+ million people that are living on the shores of Lake Victoria at first then later we can scale up to other freshwater bodies.

These are underserved communities including, fishermen, people on islands, communities on the shores of freshwater bodies not forgetting other stakeholders like environmental researchers, academicians, government agencies like the Ministry of Environwater and Water, water supply companies, recycling companies among others.

We use evidence-based approaches to identify problems then later, resilient research is conducted to help us understand their needs and challenges better. After that, we develop technology solutions that can help address their challenges as well as mitigate likely negative impacts, that is the sole reason we are developing an environmental data repository that works in real-time so that members and stakeholders can use it to empower communities as they restore its true nature as well as make meaningful decisions on what should be done to curb this challenge with evidence of data available at their disposal.

We provide real-time environmental data that helps to monitor the state of community ecosystems by pinning where to address these challenges using spatial data. There is a higher chance of expediting change by policymakers and stakeholders if we can answer how, where, when these macro pollutants enter these water bodies.

We need reliable and accurate data to increases public knowledge in the process of restoring our communities` ecosystems which have been globally vulnerable due to human and industrialactivities. Our solution helps to avail a technology that can be used to plan earlier as well as mitigate ecological degradation-related negative impacts.

Our team is currently testing the functionality of our mobile applications on the shores with a few drones though we have not secured a license that allows us to fly drones in wider areas along the shores of Lake Victoria.

We are yet to add on other components onto the project like Sensors which we believe with our validated concept that by knowing the density of floating macro pollutants on the shores we can be in a position to also monitor places as well as define the source and destination of these macro-pollutants as they float on the shores of freshwater bodies.

We still have to fully test our business models with the available market trends and occurrence of Covid-19 it has been tricky to justify it at the moment.

Our solutions are real-time and open-source to enable a global livelihood impact with areas facing the same challenge as well as be in a position to share knowledge with the rest of the world.

It is developed with the latest technology (Artificial Intelligence) in a combination with smartphones and drones (both the smartphones and drones are day to day technologies held by people in their surrounding communities and its best to connect with them) as well as sensors that help us determine the density of macro plastics floating on water.

I expect this solution to bring a wider positive impact in the fight against the surgency of single-use plastics and help stakeholders in creating circular economies as we continue to empower communities with real-time technology solutions.

We are currently testing our application along the shores of Lake Victoria, the second-largest freshwater lake in the world next to Lake Superior. Lake Victoria has a population of about 40 million people with an average population density of 250 people per square km. Not to forget that Lake Victoria is the source of River Nile the longest in the world with a population of 275 million people.

We are operating in Kampala the capital of Uganda connecting to Lake Victoria shores. In addition to 10 islands on Lake Victoria. We have currently served a population of 25 million people while testing our solutions and trying to share knowledge on the dangers of macro pollution which has not been easy for mind and behavior change.

We are looking towards extending our solution to Kenya and Tanzania (Lake Victoria connected areas) next year so that we can impact over 28 to 37 million people before we embark on other water bodies connecting to Lake Victoria like River Nile.

We have been in a position to collect over 38,000+ images of macro plastics on the shores of freshwater bodies and this is visually displayed on our interactive real-time dashboard for public spatial analysis.

Our algorithms are fully functional and operational making it easy to save life below water report on the occurrence of macro plastics in various areas directly to stakeholders through our communication technology channels.

Our solution is built to empower underprivileged communities and stakeholders along the shores of freshwater bodies with enough environmental data which they can base on to make better decisions as well as develop meaningful policies that push humanity forward.

I work with over nine full-time employees as portrayed here: Sodzo Team and two part-time consultants who are working in the capacities of; environmental specialist consultant and taxation and revenue consultant and above all a support staff member who is doubling as a cook and office cleaner.

We are a youthful team passionate about developing technologies that push the human race forward through the use of open source technologies, open education, policy, and resilient research. We have a combined eighteen (18) years of experience developing artificial technologies in different capacities from crop disease surveillance to detection of water quality and machine learning applications that can effectively and efficiently detect macro pollutants on the shores of freshwater bodies. We have a diverse group of computer scientists, software engineers, policy analysts, accountants, and above all community engagement associates.

We are currently serving underprivileged communities that live and those connected on the shores of freshwater bodies. With our current team, we have software developers who value the need for technology to transform communities as it reaches a wider global audience, a community engagement associate who works as a liaison between the technologies we develop and the work we do at Sodzo Foundation with the outside world, a research associate who validates our work and its impact, a policy expert who makes sure that policies developed in line with our work fully benefit the communities we work in as well as an accountant who doubles as an evaluation and monitoring officer valuing the impact on the ground in line with every funder`s penny we spend.

This team of youths together with others members are fully equipped with ample knowledge and passion to put forward their energy as a way to change the world for the better through their skills and time.

Every team member at Sodzo Foundation makes a difference in our organization`s goals and objectives going forward, as well as our array of diverse and vibrant communities that we continue to impact through the technologies and the work we do every day of our life. We understand that people from different regions, sex orientation or beliefs can positively impact and transform the lives of the minorities and those stricken by the challenges we put forth to solve by the technologies we develop and with totally different ideologies, opinions, or views put forward by our members through respect and values we hold dear at heart that include; mutual respect, innovative, community inclusiveness, environmentally friendly, integrity, resilience, openness, and transparency.

Sodzo Foundation is an equal employment organization that provides a friendly environment for all qualified employees to thrive and flourish without discrimination of any form or be it on the basis of sex, gender, race, religion, age, nationality, race, or sexual orientation.

We are honored to build equity through our team, board, and communities we work in through dedication to diversity and inclusion.

Currently, we have (12) employees with a total of seven (7) males and (5) females and our board of directors is comprised of (3) males and (2) females.

We understand that our team better serves us and the communities when we are diverse and through this that we can achieve our vision of a "Life Better For All" and live by our slogan of "Pushing The Human race Forward".

I am applying to SOLVE to join a group of change-makers and continue learning from their experience on how best I can replication my idea to solve the macro pollution problem in other underprivileged communities.

As Sodzo Foundation we need to create a network of reliable partners in line with our intended domains of operation who believe that humanity can be transformed through technology and all life better and inclusive for everyone is very achievable and possible.

I am applying to SOLVE to be in a position to continue building my technology as I learn more about what better technologies can be used or added onto my technology so that It becomes more robust, more effective, and more efficient in serving communities better as we push the human race forward.

We are developing technologies that require time, skill, and commitment to drive them forward. Despite our ability to kick start the development of these technological solutions, we believe we have the capacity to deliver the best solution to our target underprivileged communities but we also believe that we need to continue learning because we are not the masters of everything nor can we say we are jerks of all trades. We believe in continuous learning from a different perspective at which, our solution can be made better, improved, replicated, or even advanced in the bid to impact a larger number of people in the world.

To make this dream a reality, we need partners that can help us build our brand identity, share our software repositories so that more people can use and replicate our software in communities facing the same challenges in the bid to improve community livelihoods, restore community ecosystems and its management.

We need partners that can help us widen and increase our impact to far-reach areas that perhaps may not have even heard of our solution.

We would like to partner with the following organizations and faculties as well as those in line with nature and biodiversity, environment and climate change, technology for social good among others, that is to say;

World Wide Fund for Nature

United Nation Environmental Programme

National Geographic Society

Plastic Pollution Coallition

Plastic Bank

The Ocean Cleanup

Ellen McArthur Foundation

MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab

MIT Environment Solutions Initiative

Plastics For Change

MacArthur Foundation

United States Agency For International Development (USAID)

Nile Basin Initiative

Lake Victoria Basin Commission

To create resilient, safe, and healthy cities we need to build circular economies in which waste and macro plastics are taken into consideration for the betterment of people that live in them as well as the environment.

Looking at my technological innovation, I am tackling the macro pollution problem using technology as I collect data that can be employed or used in modeling better cities on how best solutions like mine can be a contribution to the health of people and their livelihoods.

In building cities, flooding and ingestion of plastics by fish and surrounding water bodies along these cities should not be a conversation on the television or in other media platforms but a problem that needs to be solved through the use of data, policy, technology and behavior change in which my solutions puts that into consideration.

With the increasing death of fish on Lake Victoria as portrayed here: https://www.bbc.com/news/world... there is a need to clean and restore the health of water bodies such that fishing as an economic activity can benefit fishermen and the government as a whole together with other stakeholders. This cannot be achieved with the surgency of macro plastics and other related pollutants on the shores of Lake Victoria since they make the water acidic and some a broken into microplastics which are digested by the fish thus blocking the intestinal organs of the fish leading to death.

Some of the fishing methods used in Uganda are poor, this is very true with the nets used to catch fish, so if my application can be in a position to identify nets clogging on the shores in real-time this can help in monitoring the safety  and health of the Lake together with modeling better fishing methods to be used by fishermen

Our technology is built on the foundation and applicability of using artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms which help to empower communities by detecting and identifying macro pollutants on the shores of freshwater bodies specifically Lake Victoria.

Through technology we are pushing the human race forward and building a life better and inclusive for everyone, this is made possible through our innovative open-source artificial intelligence technologies that collect data and help communicate real-time information to intended stakeholders like policymakers, recyclers, government agencies, academicians and researchers among others, so that action can be taken without delay as a way to mitigate the immerse negative effects that may occur in the future.

Our technology saves life below water, climate change, and clean water and sanitation which are key in building a sustainable world. We believe that if our technology is deployed and scaled to a wider global community it can be a contribution to making this world sustainable as well as alleviate poverty by reducing the losses incurred by fishermen during the exportation of fish since its applicability can reduce the massive death of fish on Lake Victoria.