Our mission is to provide access to clean water in Malawi, Africa.
Our vision is to be a bridge between here and there.
Thank you to everyone who has helped build the bridge...and drill those wells.
Our vision is to be a bridge between here and there.
Thank you to everyone who has helped build the bridge...and drill those wells.
Cindee Rood is the Founder and Executive Director of Formidable Joy.
It was Cindee's love of travel, that led to her life in philanthropy.
Her wanderlust exposed her to the living conditions of so many living in extreme poverty. She could no longer "unsee" the suffering, and felt compelled to do something.
Cindee found that the simplest solution and most cost-effective way to improve the health and overall quality of life for people was to provide them access to clean water.
Of the 70 countries she has visited, it was Malawi, Africa that pulled at her heart. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world - only 8% of the country has access to electricity and 1/3 of the population lacks access to clean water.
To date, Cindee has personally spearheaded and completed 200+ water projects in 18 districts throughout Malawi - from remote villages to primary and preschools to hospitals and health centers.
She assesses, reviews, and celebrates every single project.
Notable projects and partners include:
1. The installation of a solar water system at Mercy James Centre.
Through a partnership with Raising Malawi, founded by Madonna in 2006,
30,000 liters of water a day are now available "off the grid" at
the only state-of-the-art pediatric hospital in the country.
2. Approval by the Malawi Government was granted, so we could drill 3 new water points inside Dzaleka Refugee Camp - home to 38,000.
3. Our partnership with Raising Malawi continued in 2019, 2020 & 2021
Together, we installed a backup water system for the Maternity Wing and Nursery at QECH, the largest hospital in Malawi. Nearly 12,000 babies are born at QECH each year, yet they averaged 6 hours a day without water.
We have gone on to install new solar water systems at Raising Malawi secondary and primary schools.
4. Our in-country partners consist of the some of the most
respected, impactful NGOs in Malawi:
Raising Malawi, Mary's Meals, buildOn, African Parks, Malawi Water Project,
Archdiocese of Lilongwe-Benga Parish, HerLiberty, Classrooms for Malawi, Moving Windmills, Tafika, GAIA and Fisherman's Rest
best of all...we are (still) just getting started!
Cindee is also an active member within other nonprofits including:
UNICEF USA Southern California Speakers Series Committee,
Rotary Club of Beverly Hills Vice President; International and Board Member, Cambodian Children's Fund, and Freedom to Choose Project.
It was Cindee's love of travel, that led to her life in philanthropy.
Her wanderlust exposed her to the living conditions of so many living in extreme poverty. She could no longer "unsee" the suffering, and felt compelled to do something.
Cindee found that the simplest solution and most cost-effective way to improve the health and overall quality of life for people was to provide them access to clean water.
Of the 70 countries she has visited, it was Malawi, Africa that pulled at her heart. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world - only 8% of the country has access to electricity and 1/3 of the population lacks access to clean water.
To date, Cindee has personally spearheaded and completed 200+ water projects in 18 districts throughout Malawi - from remote villages to primary and preschools to hospitals and health centers.
She assesses, reviews, and celebrates every single project.
Notable projects and partners include:
1. The installation of a solar water system at Mercy James Centre.
Through a partnership with Raising Malawi, founded by Madonna in 2006,
30,000 liters of water a day are now available "off the grid" at
the only state-of-the-art pediatric hospital in the country.
2. Approval by the Malawi Government was granted, so we could drill 3 new water points inside Dzaleka Refugee Camp - home to 38,000.
3. Our partnership with Raising Malawi continued in 2019, 2020 & 2021
Together, we installed a backup water system for the Maternity Wing and Nursery at QECH, the largest hospital in Malawi. Nearly 12,000 babies are born at QECH each year, yet they averaged 6 hours a day without water.
We have gone on to install new solar water systems at Raising Malawi secondary and primary schools.
4. Our in-country partners consist of the some of the most
respected, impactful NGOs in Malawi:
Raising Malawi, Mary's Meals, buildOn, African Parks, Malawi Water Project,
Archdiocese of Lilongwe-Benga Parish, HerLiberty, Classrooms for Malawi, Moving Windmills, Tafika, GAIA and Fisherman's Rest
best of all...we are (still) just getting started!
Cindee is also an active member within other nonprofits including:
UNICEF USA Southern California Speakers Series Committee,
Rotary Club of Beverly Hills Vice President; International and Board Member, Cambodian Children's Fund, and Freedom to Choose Project.
Cindee Rood is the Founder and Executive Director of formidablejoy.
It was Cindee's love of travel, that led to her life in philanthropy. Her wanderlust exposed her to the living conditions of so many living in extreme poverty. She could no longer "unsee" the suffering, and felt compelled to do something.
Cindee found that the simplest solution and most cost-effective way to improve the health and overall quality of life for people was to provide them access to clean water.
Of the 70 countries she has visited, it was Malawi, Africa that pulled at her heart. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world - only 8% of the country have access to electricity and 1/3 of the population lacks access to clean water.
To date, Cindee has personally spearheaded and completed 200+ water projects in 18 districts throughout Malawi - from remote villages to primary and preschools to hospitals and health centers.
She assesses, reviews, and celebrates every single project.
Notable projects and partners include:
1. The installation of a solar water system at Mercy James Centre. Through a partnership with Raising Malawi, founded by Madonna in 2006, 30,000 liters of water a day are now available "off the grid" at the only state-of-the-art pediatric hospital in Malawi.
2. Approval was granted by the Malawian Government, so we could drill 3 new water points inside Dzaleka Refugee Camp - home to 38,000.
3. Our partnership with Raising Malawi continued in 2019, 2020 & 2021
Together, we installed a backup water system for the Maternity Wing and Nursery at QECH, the largest hospital in Malawi. Nearly 12,000 babies are born at QECH each year, yet they averaged 6 hours a day without water.
We have gone on to install new solar water systems at 3 Raising Malawi secondary and primary schools.
4. Our in-country partners consist of the some of the most respected, impactful NGOs in Malawi:
Raising Malawi, Mary's Meals, buildOn, African Parks, Malawi Water Project,
Archdiocese of Lilongwe-Benga Parish, Tafika, HerLiberty, Classrooms for Malawi, Moving Windmills, GAIA and Fisherman's Rest
best of all...
we are (still) just getting started!
Cindee is also an active member within other nonprofits including:
UNICEF USA Southern California Speakers Series Committee,
Rotary Club of Beverly Hills Vice President; International and Board Member, Cambodian Children's Fund, and Freedom to Choose Project.
It was Cindee's love of travel, that led to her life in philanthropy. Her wanderlust exposed her to the living conditions of so many living in extreme poverty. She could no longer "unsee" the suffering, and felt compelled to do something.
Cindee found that the simplest solution and most cost-effective way to improve the health and overall quality of life for people was to provide them access to clean water.
Of the 70 countries she has visited, it was Malawi, Africa that pulled at her heart. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world - only 8% of the country have access to electricity and 1/3 of the population lacks access to clean water.
To date, Cindee has personally spearheaded and completed 200+ water projects in 18 districts throughout Malawi - from remote villages to primary and preschools to hospitals and health centers.
She assesses, reviews, and celebrates every single project.
Notable projects and partners include:
1. The installation of a solar water system at Mercy James Centre. Through a partnership with Raising Malawi, founded by Madonna in 2006, 30,000 liters of water a day are now available "off the grid" at the only state-of-the-art pediatric hospital in Malawi.
2. Approval was granted by the Malawian Government, so we could drill 3 new water points inside Dzaleka Refugee Camp - home to 38,000.
3. Our partnership with Raising Malawi continued in 2019, 2020 & 2021
Together, we installed a backup water system for the Maternity Wing and Nursery at QECH, the largest hospital in Malawi. Nearly 12,000 babies are born at QECH each year, yet they averaged 6 hours a day without water.
We have gone on to install new solar water systems at 3 Raising Malawi secondary and primary schools.
4. Our in-country partners consist of the some of the most respected, impactful NGOs in Malawi:
Raising Malawi, Mary's Meals, buildOn, African Parks, Malawi Water Project,
Archdiocese of Lilongwe-Benga Parish, Tafika, HerLiberty, Classrooms for Malawi, Moving Windmills, GAIA and Fisherman's Rest
best of all...
we are (still) just getting started!
Cindee is also an active member within other nonprofits including:
UNICEF USA Southern California Speakers Series Committee,
Rotary Club of Beverly Hills Vice President; International and Board Member, Cambodian Children's Fund, and Freedom to Choose Project.
Our mission is to provide access to clean water in Malawi, Africa.
Our vision is to be a bridge between here and there.
Thank you to everyone who has helped build this bridge...and drill those wells.
Our vision is to be a bridge between here and there.
Thank you to everyone who has helped build this bridge...and drill those wells.
The love of Malawi all began with this ONE little girl!
Shyreen stole Cindee's heart the first day they met, while volunteering at her orphanage.
Meeting Shyreen inspired her and called her to keep coming back.
Thanks to this ONE little girl, and YOU...so many more children will be impacted.
The power of ONE!
Cindee is based in Los Angeles, and travels to Malawi several times a year.
Shyreen stole Cindee's heart the first day they met, while volunteering at her orphanage.
Meeting Shyreen inspired her and called her to keep coming back.
Thanks to this ONE little girl, and YOU...so many more children will be impacted.
The power of ONE!
Cindee is based in Los Angeles, and travels to Malawi several times a year.
formidablejoy
Board of Directors
We are women…helping women*.
azimayi akamathandizana zinthu zabwino zambiri zimachitika
when women support each other
incredible things happen
*and so many men...including new board member, Chiletso Msang'azi
Board of Directors
We are women…helping women*.
azimayi akamathandizana zinthu zabwino zambiri zimachitika
when women support each other
incredible things happen
*and so many men...including new board member, Chiletso Msang'azi
SAPNA ABROL
Ms. Abrol is an Environmental Scientist with a specialization in water quality.
She received her M.S. from UCLA in Environmental Chemistry and her B.S. from UC Irvine in Chemistry. Ms. Abrol has 10 years experience working for an environmental consulting firm in Southern California, specializing in Environmental Management Systems, water quality regulations, and sustainable development.
She is the CEO of Alpha Environmental, a company that provides non-toxic, environmentally friendly raw materials and ingredients for the personal care industry. Ms. Abrol is also an advocate of a zero-waste lifestyle and minimizing plastic pollution and single-use plastics.
Sapna’s family members reside in Malawi.
TIKHALA ITAYE-LOUGHLIN
Proud to announce the recent appointment of new board member, Tikhala Itaye-Loughlin. Tikhala is simply put - a force of nature!
Tikhala's impressive bio includes creating her own nonprofit, Her Liberty, a youth-led NGO that empowers and equips young people to be change agents in their own communities. She is also the Director of Global Movement Building for Women in Global Health. Their aim is to enable women from around the world to engage at all levels of decision-making, especially women, who are under represented in global health leadership in low and middle-income countries.
Tikhala was chosen from thousands of applicants in Malawi with a Fulbright Scholarship. She recently completed her Masters in Public Health at University of Washington. She also holds a Law Degree from University of Namibia.
Tikhala resides in Blantyre, Malawi.
LISA VEBBER
Lisa Vebber is a Master’s candidate in Biology through a partnership with San Diego Zoo Global and Miami University of Ohio.
Ms. Vebber studies human-wildlife conflict and community-based conservation in Africa. Wildlife conservation is her passion, but she knows helping the local people is the best chance of success for animals, too.
Lisa fell in love with Malawi in 2017, while working at the Majete Wildlife Reserve to help coordinate the transfer of 500 elephants.
Conservation is a second career for Lisa. She brings 20 years of experience in the television industry to the Formidable Joy board, working in high-level positions at Warner Bros, Sony, Disney, Comcast and NBC.
Lisa also teaches at the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism’s Master’s program, focusing on Data Analytics and Insights.
Her research background adds an extra dimension in guiding the growth of Formidable Joy.
Other volunteer experience includes research at the Los Angeles Zoo, The GriffithPark Raptor Study, Co-President of the Parents Association at Bridges Academy, and member of the Board of Trustees for Hollywood Schoolhouse.
BONNIE DARROW
Bonnie specializes in strategic planning and operations, having spent 10 years as an executive in the automotive industry.
She is President of the Manhattan Beach Parent Teacher Association, and has served on their board for 8 years.
Bonnie is Chair of the Grant Committee for the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation and also serves on their board.
She is President of the MBX Advisory Board, which advises all athletic and activity teams/groups at Mira Costa High School.
She is also a member of the MBUSD Health and Safety committee, MBUSD Social Emotional Wellness committee, and the PBIS (Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports) committee.
She is graduated from FSU, BS in Social Science.
CHILETSO MSANG'AZI
Proud to announce the recent appointment of new board member, Chiletso Msang'azi
Please check back soon as we update his impressive bio.
KARINN SAMMANN
Karinn brings over 15 years experience in the healthcare and nonprofit sectors to her work with Formidable Joy.
She is co-founder of Impact AO, a nonprofit organization that magnifies the impact of local leaders who are improving health and vitality in under-resourced communities. Karinn also cofounded DrugVoice, a consumer market research and consulting company, focused on bringing the patient perspective to the forefront of healthcare decision making. In addition to working with leading healthcare and pharmaceutical companies, Karinn also developed programs, secured funding and evaluated impact for community-based healthcare programs in Uganda and South Sudan.
Karinn holds a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University, and
an MBA and Master of Public Health from University of California at Los Angeles.
AMY ROBINSON
We are thrilled to welcome another formidable female to our Board of Directors.
Amy first fell in love with Malawi when she was leading the Global Brand Management team at Cisco.
In 2015, she built her first primary school in Malawi along with our partner buildOn. We truly have Amy to thank for facilitating our partnership with buildOn to fund and build schools with solar water systems in the Kasungu district of Malawi which began in 2018. Amy first volunteered with buildOn in 2009 in San Francisco with Catarina Schwab who was the VP of Development. Amy considers herself a “data nerd.” She is currently developing a whole village model with WhatIf Innovation Partners (now part of Accenture). Their vision/model is called Mudzi. They are at the early stages of research and development.
Amy has BA in applied Math and Economics from Brown University, and an MBA from Northwestern Kellogg.
Advisory Board
Lindsey Alley
CFO; Houlihan Lokey
Bill Keller
Water Chemist and President; Aqua-tech Water Management
Michael Yarbro
Attorney
Our financial details are publicly available at GuideStar or upon request.
Ms. Abrol is an Environmental Scientist with a specialization in water quality.
She received her M.S. from UCLA in Environmental Chemistry and her B.S. from UC Irvine in Chemistry. Ms. Abrol has 10 years experience working for an environmental consulting firm in Southern California, specializing in Environmental Management Systems, water quality regulations, and sustainable development.
She is the CEO of Alpha Environmental, a company that provides non-toxic, environmentally friendly raw materials and ingredients for the personal care industry. Ms. Abrol is also an advocate of a zero-waste lifestyle and minimizing plastic pollution and single-use plastics.
Sapna’s family members reside in Malawi.
TIKHALA ITAYE-LOUGHLIN
Proud to announce the recent appointment of new board member, Tikhala Itaye-Loughlin. Tikhala is simply put - a force of nature!
Tikhala's impressive bio includes creating her own nonprofit, Her Liberty, a youth-led NGO that empowers and equips young people to be change agents in their own communities. She is also the Director of Global Movement Building for Women in Global Health. Their aim is to enable women from around the world to engage at all levels of decision-making, especially women, who are under represented in global health leadership in low and middle-income countries.
Tikhala was chosen from thousands of applicants in Malawi with a Fulbright Scholarship. She recently completed her Masters in Public Health at University of Washington. She also holds a Law Degree from University of Namibia.
Tikhala resides in Blantyre, Malawi.
LISA VEBBER
Lisa Vebber is a Master’s candidate in Biology through a partnership with San Diego Zoo Global and Miami University of Ohio.
Ms. Vebber studies human-wildlife conflict and community-based conservation in Africa. Wildlife conservation is her passion, but she knows helping the local people is the best chance of success for animals, too.
Lisa fell in love with Malawi in 2017, while working at the Majete Wildlife Reserve to help coordinate the transfer of 500 elephants.
Conservation is a second career for Lisa. She brings 20 years of experience in the television industry to the Formidable Joy board, working in high-level positions at Warner Bros, Sony, Disney, Comcast and NBC.
Lisa also teaches at the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism’s Master’s program, focusing on Data Analytics and Insights.
Her research background adds an extra dimension in guiding the growth of Formidable Joy.
Other volunteer experience includes research at the Los Angeles Zoo, The GriffithPark Raptor Study, Co-President of the Parents Association at Bridges Academy, and member of the Board of Trustees for Hollywood Schoolhouse.
BONNIE DARROW
Bonnie specializes in strategic planning and operations, having spent 10 years as an executive in the automotive industry.
She is President of the Manhattan Beach Parent Teacher Association, and has served on their board for 8 years.
Bonnie is Chair of the Grant Committee for the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation and also serves on their board.
She is President of the MBX Advisory Board, which advises all athletic and activity teams/groups at Mira Costa High School.
She is also a member of the MBUSD Health and Safety committee, MBUSD Social Emotional Wellness committee, and the PBIS (Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports) committee.
She is graduated from FSU, BS in Social Science.
CHILETSO MSANG'AZI
Proud to announce the recent appointment of new board member, Chiletso Msang'azi
Please check back soon as we update his impressive bio.
KARINN SAMMANN
Karinn brings over 15 years experience in the healthcare and nonprofit sectors to her work with Formidable Joy.
She is co-founder of Impact AO, a nonprofit organization that magnifies the impact of local leaders who are improving health and vitality in under-resourced communities. Karinn also cofounded DrugVoice, a consumer market research and consulting company, focused on bringing the patient perspective to the forefront of healthcare decision making. In addition to working with leading healthcare and pharmaceutical companies, Karinn also developed programs, secured funding and evaluated impact for community-based healthcare programs in Uganda and South Sudan.
Karinn holds a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University, and
an MBA and Master of Public Health from University of California at Los Angeles.
AMY ROBINSON
We are thrilled to welcome another formidable female to our Board of Directors.
Amy first fell in love with Malawi when she was leading the Global Brand Management team at Cisco.
In 2015, she built her first primary school in Malawi along with our partner buildOn. We truly have Amy to thank for facilitating our partnership with buildOn to fund and build schools with solar water systems in the Kasungu district of Malawi which began in 2018. Amy first volunteered with buildOn in 2009 in San Francisco with Catarina Schwab who was the VP of Development. Amy considers herself a “data nerd.” She is currently developing a whole village model with WhatIf Innovation Partners (now part of Accenture). Their vision/model is called Mudzi. They are at the early stages of research and development.
Amy has BA in applied Math and Economics from Brown University, and an MBA from Northwestern Kellogg.
Advisory Board
Lindsey Alley
CFO; Houlihan Lokey
Bill Keller
Water Chemist and President; Aqua-tech Water Management
Michael Yarbro
Attorney
Our financial details are publicly available at GuideStar or upon request.
