Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa
Post Reporter
IN Nyanga, Mr Asward Mudondo (34) may not be winning popularity contests with teenagers glued to their screens, but his unassuming creation is achieving what many parents only dream of — filtering the internet.
His newly developed digital tool works silently in the background, blocking access to some of the most addictive platforms and harmful online content that children routinely consume, especially during school hours and late at night. TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook are all on its blacklist.
Remarkably, the service is free.
Already, more than 1 000 children across schools and households in the district are benefiting.
While youngsters grumble at the sudden restrictions, parents and educators are breathing a collective sigh of relief.
Concerns have been mounting over exposure to pornography, cyberbullying, gambling sites, and the creeping grip of social media addiction.
In many rural communities, families describe a new domestic struggle brought by smartphones and stronger connectivity.
What was once hailed as a gateway to education and communication has, for some, become a source of quiet anxiety.
Children spend hours scrolling unsuitable material and chatting long after lights out, often without adult supervision.
Parents only grasped the scale of the problem after noticing behavioural changes, disrupted sleep, and slipping school results. Others admitted feeling powerless, lacking the digital know how to monitor modern devices and ever shifting platforms.
Nyanga clergy, Pastor Raymond Mudzedze, said unrestricted internet access has become one of the most pressing household concerns in the district. For now, Mr Mudondo’s filter is offering something rare in the digital age — a little peace of mind.
“The internet has changed our society, introducing Western and other unfamiliar cultures that are deeply influencing our youths and children. Many youngsters say good night and retreat to their rooms, but later you discover they are still awake at midnight, browsing on their phones. As parents, we began to worry about what exactly they were watching and who they were engaging with online,” said Pastor Raymond Mudzedze.
He noted that many guardians from older generations struggle to understand the digital world their children navigate daily.
“You buy a smartphone for educational purposes, but eventually realise the child is exposed to dangerous content you cannot monitor because you are unfamiliar with these technologies. Yet you cannot completely deny children access to technology, since schools now require internet research and online learning. That is where the challenge lies,” he explained.
As internet connectivity expands deeper into rural Zimbabwe — boosted by Starlink installations in schools and communities — more children are gaining access to smartphones and online platforms.
While this development is opening doors to information and learning opportunities once out of reach, it is also exposing rural children to online dangers previously associated mainly with urban communities.
Against this backdrop, Mr Asward Mudondo developed SafeNet, a digital filtering platform designed to help parents and schools protect children from harmful online content.
Speaking to The Manica Post, Mr Mudondo said the idea was born out of repeated concerns from parents overwhelmed by unsupervised internet use among children.
“We received a flood of desperate requests asking how to stop children from destroying their lives online. Hearing the cries of non tech parents and guardians made me realise I needed to use my skills to build a simple, accessible solution. Children were stumbling upon explicit adult content, drug related material, gambling sites, and cyberbullying.
“Because many parents lack digital literacy, children were browsing entirely unsupervised, exposing themselves to things they are emotionally unequipped to handle. This directly impacts their behaviour, morals, and school performance,” he explained.
Unlike conventional parental control systems that require costly subscriptions, complicated applications, or advanced technical knowledge, SafeNet was specifically designed with rural communities in mind.
“Urban families often have access to tech savvy environments and corporate parental control services. Rural communities like Nyanga are often left behind. We wanted to build a solution right here in Nyanga that empowers rural parents to be in control without needing an IT degree,” said Mr Mudondo.
A graduate in Information Technology, he developed the platform under his youth led enterprise, Peacro Technologies Africa.
He emphasised that, unlike many start ups reliant on foreign backing or corporate funding, the project was largely built through local resources and personal commitment.
“Peacro Technologies Africa is a proudly youth led and self driven local enterprise. Much of the initial push behind SafeNet came from our own sacrifices, local resources, and continuous development efforts,” he said.
Development of the platform began in October last year and took nearly eight months of continuous coding, testing, and consultations with parents, schools, and communities before reaching its current stage.
Although the system has not yet undergone formal independent assessment by external technology experts, Mr Asward Mudondo, said he remains confident in its effectiveness, citing his professional IT background and ongoing field testing in Nyanga communities.
“Nyanga is our testing ground and our proud home, but the digital safety crisis touches every corner of Zimbabwe. With the rapid national expansion of satellite internet and school connectivity, our goal is to scale SafeNet nationwide to ensure that as Zimbabwe gets connected, our children remain protected,” he said.
The platform operates through a private DNS, filtering harmful online content directly from a child’s device.
Mr Mudondo explained that protection remains active whether the child is connected to home Wi Fi, school internet, or mobile data bundles.
Among the content blocked are pornography websites, explicit adult material, gambling platforms, and online scams.
The system also enforces safe search on major search engines, while parents and schools can restrict applications such as TikTok and WhatsApp during lesson times or late at night.
For many families, the innovation has brought relief and peace of mind.
Pastor Mudzedze said the platform has helped restore order in homes where parents previously struggled to control children’s internet use.
“With such an initiative, I can now see that at least we can breathe and have peace of mind. It is now a controlled situation, and its simplicity makes me, from a non tech generation, feel more in control,” he said.
Schools are also beginning to view the innovation as a practical way of balancing internet safety with digital learning opportunities under Zimbabwe’s Heritage Based Curriculum.
Head of Quality Access Academy, Mr Shelton Mugaviri, said the institution recently installed a Starlink kit and a computer laboratory to improve access to online learning resources.
However, concerns over online safety quickly emerged.
“We were wondering how we can monitor the children online. We used not to allow phones at school to try to solve the issue because we feared abuse of the internet and social media,” he said.
The filtering technology now allows schools to gradually integrate supervised smartphone use into learning activities without exposing children to harmful material.
“My favourite feature is restricting specific applications like TikTok and WhatsApp during lessons. Children can now benefit from internet research for learning purposes without unnecessary distractions,” he added.
Mr Mudondo believes many schools previously resorted to banning smartphones entirely because they lacked practical solutions for internet safety.
“Previously, most schools imposed a total ban on devices, but that also deprived children of the benefits of online learning. With more rural schools now receiving internet connectivity, we must ensure children can access the educational advantages of the internet without being exposed to dangerous content.
“Ten years ago, I was featured in this very paper as just a boy with a passion for ICT. Today, I am solving a national problem. You don’t need to be in Harare or abroad to innovate — use the skills you have to tackle the challenges facing your parents, your schools, and your community,” he said.
