Support this reconstruction project by donating today, using the form below. Read on to learn more about the situation in Jhirandiya and how you can provide life-saving relief that will impact generations to come!

A community in need of life-saving clean water

Clean water is critical to human life everywhere, allowing us to grow our food, clean our bodies, and eliminate our thirst. Collecting and protecting this water is one of the most important ways a community can sustain itself. In Jhirandiya, India, a village of nearly 1,000 people located in Alwar district, part of the northern state of Rajasthan, the traditional method of storing water is a man-made reservoir pond called a johad.

The johad system developed in response to the local climate: Rajasthan, like much of India, experiences an intense monsoon season typically between the months of July and September. This time of year represents nearly all of the region’s annual rainfall – making the storage of this water paramount to the life of communities here.

In Jhirandiya, the johad replenishes the village’s water well and four water tanks during the dry season. This ensures constant access to life-giving clean water for all 971 community members, as well as those living in neighboring villages, who use it to grow crops including wheat, mustard, chickpeas, onions, cotton and pearl millet. This water supply also sustains hundreds of cattle, whose milk represents a critical piece of Jhirandiya’s economy.

But when a johad malfunctions, it can be devastating for a community’s long-term health and survival. And sadly, this is the state that Jhirandiya finds itself in. With the clock ticking and the rainy season only months away, Embrace Relief is making a life-saving impact by launching our Jhirandiya Johad Reconstruction project!

This project represents an exciting new expansion of Embrace Relief’s Clean Water Initiative to India, which will stand alongside the 850+ water wells built and reconstructed over the past decade, supporting more than 900,000 people in seven countries, primarily in Africa. Embrace Relief is proud to partner with the New Delhi-based Centre for Social Research (CSR) and the Hope and Action Foundation (HAF) to make this project a reality.

With the help of generous donors like you, this new project will support the clearing and rebuilding of Jhirandiya’s old, nonfunctioning johad. This project will cost approximately US$10,000, and will involve the digging of earthen embankments to create the reservoir pond, as well as a diversionary channel that will naturally transmit water into the pond. Construction is expected to start in April 2024, and is set to be completed prior to the start of the monsoon season in July.

But we need your help to get shovels in the ground.

Donate today using the form on this page, and make a life-saving impact for the people of Jhirandiya. Your gift will be a beacon of hope for an entire community, allowing Jhirandiya and neighboring villages to thrive!