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Oorani Annual UpdateWater is the most throbbingly vital, most deeply needed resource of our lives. No one can go through a day without any water to drink and wash; and when there is this rare occurrence, our very lives come to a standstill. Thousands of people in urban India are familiar with this struggle—cities simply do not have enough drinking water for its inhabitants and thousands can speak from across cities, of the wait for the uncertain, dodgy once-in-three-days supply, long wait in the line for the water tanker, not enough water and the water fights. Except for the crops, which are rain fed and suffered due to its vagaries; rural India was considerably safe and self-sufficient in its drinking water sources, due to age-old, traditional water harvesting practices, that wisely utilised the rainfall and soil quality of each place to create enough water storage devices to help people get through the summer. But the erosion of traditional practices and unsure advance of modern conveniences has meant, most villagers have also foregone the upkeep and maintenance of traditional water storage devices and water bodies, and suffer due to an often acute lack of water, chiefly drinking water. DHAN Foundation and Water: How it all began
From Tanks: To Oorani for drinking waterDHAN’s focus was on the tanks to renovate them and to bring back the farmer’s management and thereby stabilize the livelihoods of the farmers dependent on it. When DHAN foundation started its work in Ramanathapuram the people made a demand for work on their ooranis(drinking water ponds) which they said was as important if not more important than work on the tank. The team realized the importance of the ooranis in the context of Ramnad where the groundwater is saline and unfit for drinking and there are no perennial rivers in the district. The first oorani was done in 1993 in a small village called Thattanendal. The intensity of work with the ooranis began in 1996 with the support of CAPART, work on 19 ooranis were completed over the next few years. A study on the ooranis as source of drinking water was taken up with IWMI in 199999 which revealed that the ooranis were an enduring and sustainable solution to the frequent water scarcity faced by the district.
Philanthropy for ooranis: The PioneerIn 2004 January, a small team led by Mr.Ramkrishnan from NRI Homecoming group visited DHAN Foundation as part of their Learning Journey. The purpose was to see firsthand for themselves the realities at the grassroots and the kinds of initiatives being taken up various pioneering institutions for it. They visited DHAN Foundation and their water related programmes. They felt compelled to do something for the cause of water after their visit. They extended support to renovate the Oorani at E Velayuthapuram in Vilathikulam Panchayat of Tuticorin district. Ram says: When we visited this village on July 22, 2004, the oorani was almost dry. We were told that the monsoon rain in October 20 03 had made the oorani full with water. But due to silt deposits the oorani could not hold enough water to last till the next monsoon. The work on the Oorani took place during August and September of 2004. By October 10, 2004, the monsoon rain had started. The task of constructing a fence was taken up after Nov 2004. Our team visited this Oorani on Dec 20, 2004. The panchayat leader took us and showed the oorani full of water. He told us that the de-silted oorani contained enough water to last the full year. In addition to his own village, people from 2 neighbouring villages were also taking this drinking water. Ram is passionate about two things – water and India. You can see the transformation in his person the moment you start talking about water. He calls himself a learner trying to understand what is this all about water. But don’t get carried away by his calling himself a learner. He has done a lot for the cause of water. Ram became an ardent supporter of the oorani. He then got a group of his friends and classmates all alumni from IIT, Chennai to support an oorani at Salur village in Tirukalukundram Block of Kanchipuram district. Philanthropy for Oorani: The CatalystRam brought others into the oorani network. DV Sridharan of goodnewsindia.com was the next to come under the spell of the ooranis. He made a field visit and was deeply impressed by the approach of DHAN, the contribution by the community and their commitment for its future maintenance. He saw it an as opportunity for the common man and anyone who cared about the environment and water to get involved in it. But he before that he got DHAN was to revamp its website, set up exclusive webpages for ooranis, set up a system for acknowledging the donors on the web itself. It took a bit of time for it all to fall in place. Then Mr.Sridharan swung in action with the “water harvesting via the Internet” exhorting his readers to get into action for the cause of water by supporting the cause of ooranis and drinking water in July 2006. Since then the goodnewsindia readers and a few others readers took up the cause of the ooranis. His article has kindled the interest of the people around the world and attracted many well wishers to join hand with DHAN in this work. We take this opportunity to acknowledge the support of Mr. Sridharan and all his readers in reaching out the appeal from the community to a larger circle using the medium of the internet. The response and support has energized us to gear up our initiatives in replicating the works in various contexts in creating access to safe drinking water in rural corners of India. Philanthropy for Oorani: The Momentum Keepers
It was her team's contribution as part of the Water Club, Singapore along with AIMS India (Ravi Venkatesh) and NRI Homecoming (Ramkrishnan) which made it possible for us to do the first Oorani through contributions from individuals and small groups in E Velayuthapuram in Vilathikulam. She took up the cause of Viyasapuram Oorani and mobilized a large group of her friends across the globe to support the cause in this village. Her enthusiasm and support for the cause is a source of inspiration for the team in the field. Not one to rest as soon as the requirement for the Viyasapuram oorani was met, she and her husband Ananth turned their personal occasion to celebrate on their 15th wedding anniversary into an opportunity for themselves and their friends to support the community at Neerkoliyenthal village to renovate their oorani. Soon Samipatti village beckoned her to champion the oorani in the village. Pretty soon Ramya galvanised her friends from Focus India Forum, friends of friends at COVANSYS, Viyasapuram oorani supporters for a second time and other friends to meet the need for them. She has started her work of mobilizing support for the fourth oorani at Dodanda village in a deep tribal area of Adilabad in Andhra Pradesh. Your energy and enthusiasm never ceases to amaze us. We thank each and every friend of Ramya and Ananth in joining hands with the community for resolving their basic need of drinking water on behalf of DHAN and the community. Ms. Ramya says "As a donor, I always look for projects where my contribution can make a lasting difference. I think donating for an oorani fits this requirement to the T. An oorani is a life changing and life giving addition to any village. Both men and women can work without worrying about collecting water, migration to cities in search of work goes down, children can study without walking long distances to fetch water or looking after the household chores when the mother is walking miles for water. Having adequate water provides the villagers with much more choices in their lives and also helps them to live a life with dignity." Huguenin Ralapalli Foundation (HRF)Mr.Sridharan had Mr. Krishna Ralapalli of the Huguenin Ralapalli Foundation (HRF) based in USA interested in the ooranis long before his article. He was more than ready to take up the cause of the oorani once the details of the villages in need was profiled on the webpages. Mr.Das the India representative of the Foundation exchanged a Memorandum of Co operation with DHAN on the occasion of its 10th Foundation Day celebrations on October 2, 2006. He made a field visit to selected villages in Ramanathapuram district in Tamil Nadu to assess first hand the ground situation, the need for the Ooranis and the interest of the communities in safeguarding it for the future. HRF is providing support to four Ooranis in the first phase namely Ulaiyur Nadukudirrupu, Athanakurichi, Nediamanikam and Neerkundam. The total project cost is Rs.9,67,000 of which the contribution from HRF is Rs.7,25,250 and the community shares Rs. 2,41,750. Mr. Krishna says "People may be able to survive in this world with very little. But there is one thing essential to all, water -- potable drinking water. Clean water is essential to protect us from waterborne diseases that are COMPLETELY AVOIDABLE. That is why the Huguenin-Rallapalli Foundation(HRF) is so proud to fund the oorani projects conceived by DHAN Foundation. Already, we are amazed with the expected results. Millions of liters of safe and reliable drinking water within the reach of villages. In the the oorani project, DHAN is applying modern techniques to an ancient and traditional Indian idea of harvesting rain locally. HRF and DHAN are helping with the tools, but what makes this a success is the full involvement and commitment of the people living in the village to make the benefits from their ooranis perpetual to their village.". More about the involvement of the HRFHuguenin Rallapalli Foundation based in the US and involved in supporting various development activities that are sustainable and community based. The objective of the Huguenin Rallapalli Foundation is to support causes that will benefit underprivileged segments of society - regardless of geography, gender, ethnicity, or religion. Mr Krishna Rallapalli and his wife Phillipine Rallapalli have set up this Foundation with their own funds. The focus of the foundation is on education, women’s rights, and self-help projects geared toward helping communities improve their living conditions. The Huguenin Ralapalli Foundation (HRF) has exchanged a Memorandum of Co-operation with DHAN Foundation on the occasion of the 10th foundation day of DHAN resolving to work. Both of them will work together to solve the drinking water problems of communities through ooranis that are a sustainable solution with the involvement of the community. They would work together on areas of mutual interest which would benefit poor communities in the long term.
HRF Field Visit: Reflections with Village CommunityMr. Das, Indian representative for HR Foundation made a visit to the Ooranis supported by HRFoundation at Mudukulathur block of Ramnad district. Before proceeding to field he participated in the General Body Meeting (GBM) of the Farmers Federation on 23 June 2007, The GBM is a gathering where the members representing from all the common interest group shaving memebership in the farmers federation meet to deliberate upon the progress and plan for the future works. The general body has expressed their deep sense of acknoledment for the support of HR Foundation for their support in reviving four Ooranis in the Block. Mr. Das mentioned in his address to the farmers that it is important to conserve the existing structures than creating a new structure. Later he moved on to the field to visit the works in field the villagers at Neerkundram accorded a warm welcome to him with the traditional arathi and the divine kulavi sounds. The whole village was in a festive mood. Mr. Sagadevan, The President of Neekundram Vayalagam Committee explained about the work execution and its importance to the community.
there was an open well in my village which was the only source of drinking water in the village for quite a long time. Water level has gone down as the ground water level declined in our area gradually. In 2003, the well went completely dry leaving us in thirst and in search of water. The village was completely devoid of drinking water source during that time. We, especially women and children traveled to 5-6 Kms to bring drinking water. After repeated request and negotiation with government, the government has dug a bore well in our village. The water in the bore well was too much salty and not suitable for drinking. Ultimately the bore well has not rescued us from the water crisis. The government insisted a patta land from the village to construct a drinking water Oorani to fulfill our need. We were not able to afford a patta land to construct the Oorani; this was a nagging issue of our village. In this juncture the HR Foundation and DHAN Foundation extended a helping hand to us. Initially we were hesitant to take up the work since we were not confident of mobilizing our contribution for the project. As a result of the constant guidance and hand holding support of DHAN Foundation we gained the confidence and decided to take up the work. We were able to mobilize a contribution of Rs. 51,000 for the Oorani work. With the support of Rs. 1, 87,500 from HR Foundation we started our work and successfully finished the earthwork. Thanks to god, immediaetly after the earth work we got a rain and our dream Oorani was filled with water. Usually in our area turbidity of water will be very high, whereas our Oorani water is very clean and ready to use for drinking. In earlier days our village was with bountiful supply of water and hence the name Neerkundram. Its name became paradox as there was so severe scarcity of water especially for drinking in our village. Now with this oornai we are confident of resolving our water crisis and slowly regain our old glory of being a bountiful place with water to share with others as well. Smt. Maremma a delighted villager expressing gratitude to HR Foundation in a meeting and she says “I just remember the dreary days in my village before constructing this Oorani. I and my children used to travel 5-6 KMs in the morning in hot sun with bare foot to bring drinking water. It was really a disturbing factor for my children to reach the school in time. Many days even they felt tired and used to skip school. It was embarrassing for me to send my son to school without taking bath. Even he complained many times to me, what to do I was not getting time or enough water to give him a bath and send him to school in time. Now my village is self sustainable in drinking water need and we are very happy that we saved our children and future generation from the crisis of drinking water scarcity. Now-a-days I am able to give a bath every day to my children and I get sufficient time for cooking and managing the works in home, since I need not travel and spend more time in search of drinking water now. Yes, this Oorani brought us out of drinking water indebtedness. The people from five nearby villages are utilizing the water in Neerkundram Oorani. Thus the water level in the Oorani is reducing day by day and the villagers are expecting the water to stand only for about 20 more days. As they have limited water in the Oorani which is not sufficient to serve their need until they get a rain, we raised a question deliberately to test the practice of mutuality in villages. Why don’t you charge something from the near by villages for using your Oorani water? In reply to the above question the villagers said, we never charged for drinking water. We know people charge for drinking water in towns where water availability is ensured. Even we (Villages in Ramanathapuram District) known for water scarcity we never thought of charging for drinking water. We have a custom of treating drinking water as community asset for which every one has equal rights to access. In case of scarcity in our villages we have to depend only on near by villages and we have no other alternatives, which is applicable to all. Before constructing this Oorani many time we approached the surrounding village in search of water. Now it is their time, around 6 villagers are taking water from our Oorani and we see it as an honor given by god. Here it is a nature’s cycle thus mutual help is most important for survival itself. Next he visited Athanakuruchi Oorani where people gave a warm welcome to Mr.Das. A village meeting was arranged for thanks giving for the support of HR Foundation and to unveil the marker for Oorani dedicated to the memory of the family members of the HRF.
The moment he recollects the words of elders that No water - No world, he says even we learn to live without food for few days but no one have the technology of surviving without water. We know the value of water to survive here. Thus the contribution of HR Foundation is really a life saver to our village. UlaiyurWhile visiting the Ulaiyur Oorani it was the women, the most suffered segment of water scarcity delightfully stated the way the Oorani transforms their life style.
Nediyamanikkam
In the absence of construction of this Oorani, we would have not been able to continue to live here. Our village would have been vacated and all of us would have forced to migrate to near by villages or to town. By extending support to construct this Oorani the HR Foundation and DHAN Foundation have gave new lease of life to our village. You can also do it….To help save the lives of the Life saving Ooranis |
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An Action Research Programme on Irrigation Tanks was undertaken in the early 80’s.The partners in this research were Centre for Water Resources, Anna University with Dr.Sakthivadivel its director and Prof Shanmugham, DHAN Foundation (part of PRADAN at that point of time) with M.P Vasimalai and the support of Ford foundation and the European Union. This path breaking action research programme led to the formulation of Special Projects for the development of tanks by the Government of Tamil Nadu and implemented in Tamil Nadu. The study brought out the importance of the crucial lifeline role the traditional water bodies like tanks (kanmois, Eries, cheruvu etc) were playing in the lives and livelihoods of the people in the Deccan Plateau region. It also marked the beginnings of DHAN’s work on small scale water bodies in 1991 in Madurai and Ramanathapuram districts. 
Ramya Nageswaran from Singapore is one of the indefatigable champions of the oorani who has taken up the cause very close to her heart. I am sure all those whom Ramya has reached out in the last one year and more would attest to.
Mr. Das on the occasion on the 10 the foundation Day Celebrations says "HRF is a foundation founded by Ralapalli Krishna and Thelline in California. They have formed a trust helping various projects across India including bio diesel, school projects and water projects. This is the first time we are associating ourselves with DHAN Foundation. I have personally visited most of the projects for the drinking water purpose and I found them absolutely interesting and very exhilarating experience I had couple of weeks back. I went back to my counterpart in and told him that we should fund this programmes and we have decided to fund four villages in Ramanathapuram district for drinking water purpose."
Mr. Sagadevan says The water in the Oorani is like Devamirtham to us
The President of Athanakururchi Oorani has expressed his whole hearted gratitude to HRF on behalf of the Vayalagam Committee of the Oorani work. 
Smt. Tamil Selvi, says "the most benefited segment of this work is women in this village. We were struggling hard to bring water in time for cooking and other domestic needs. Now with this oorani anyone can fetch water at anytime for the home needs and we don’t have to go far in search of water".
Mr. Kanthan, Vayalagam leader of Ulaiyur village cited and he says "It had been our dream to have an Oorani in our village and make my village self sustainable in water needs. Today our dream has come true and we are very happy and proud that we have secured a safe drinking water facility to our future generations".
Mr. Periyaswamy the Vayalagam leader of Nediyamanikkam Oorani says “My village would have become deserted in the absence of this Oorani”