The Miracle of Johi

Last summer’s unprecedented floods engulfed one-fifth of Pakistan—annihilating people, roads, bridges, houses, and livelihoods in the destructive surge. Citizens of Pakistan, and indeed people world over, were stunned by the devastation.

Grappling with a disaster on this scale is difficult for even the most experienced and well-resourced humanitarian organizations. And criticisms of the United Nation’s response to the disaster made clear to the complexity of the situation on the ground in the aftermath of the flood. Donors—both international as well as local relief organizations—were baffled at how best to help. Where to begin with such large scale damage and how to withstand the ferocity of the raging River Indus, which had washed away everything in its path?

Sometimes, however, the act of a single individual is enough to save a community. The tiny village of Johi in Dadu District, in the Sindh Province of Pakistan, is one such example. In the midst of the chaos and turmoil of the 2010 floods, this small village and its brave people stood as a beacon of hope and endurance.

Dadu District in Sindh, where the village of Johi is situated was severely affected by the floods. Out of the 52 Union Councils that constitute the district, 42 were flooded. More than fourteen hundred villages were damaged, displacing nearly 800,000 people in Dadu District alone. Moreover, approximately 2,000 livestock were lost to the floods and almost 225,000 acres of agricultural land was inundated.

As water levels exceeded the danger barrier and caused breakage along embankments that could no longer sustain its sheer force and volume, the district was declared an emergency zone and put on red alert. Local communities unwillingly left their valuables, property, and land in order to relocate to safer locations and save their lives.

Thardeep Rural Development Program (TRDP), a grantee of the Open Society Foundations in Pakistan, is a local organization that has worked on poverty reduction in Sindh since 1987. Along with the army, other relief groups, and the local government, TRDP helped to facilitate the relocation of people affected by the flood in Dadu with vehicles and boats. Irrigation authorities, army personnel, and local NGOs were racing against time to prevent disaster damage in the district as much as possible. As people rushed onto boats, vehicles, and sometimes even on foot to leave their villages the residents of Johi village remained undeterred despite the advancing threat.

This phenomenal story of resilience began with one single act of courage. Ayesha Gopang, a 60-year-old woman, started collecting stones to fill the weak embankment along Johi village boundary ring, and announced that she would not leave her home. Inspired by her drive to save the village, many other residents of Johi, young and old, joined her in this attempt to restore the village’s dikes and prevent them from being submerged by the flood waters.

After seeing the enthusiasm and commitment of the villagers, TRDP field staff provided support to the Johi community by helping to mobilize the residents into undertaking these protection measures. They were given 5,000 plastic bags with specific guidelines on how to fill them in order to fortify the Johi ring boundary which was being threatened by the impending floods.

The villagers worked day and night, filling the bags with rocks, sand, plants, grass, and then placed them along the village boundary ring at vulnerable breach points. The  community’s perseverance and was so infectious that it inspired fellow villagers to donate generously towards raising the ring embankment. Some even went to the extent of demolishing parts of their homes so that they could contribute bricks towards the strengthening of the embankment.

These efforts helped in raising the boundary ring by 8 feet over 7–8 kilometers. Their work, however, was not yet over. The next few days were crucial as the villagers had to constantly monitor the flood situation and guard the embankment. And so, organizing themselves in groups, abandoning their day-to-day tasks, the villagers took shifts in guarding the embankment.

As the flood waters ravaged the country, displacing millions of people, the small village of Johi was able to shield itself from this dreadful catastrophe. Ayesha and her fellow citizens did not wait for any outside assistance but relied solely on themselves to save their home. The miraculous story of Johi and the resilience of its residents is a testament to the sheer power of human spirit which perseveres through the most challenging calamities and emerges triumphant and stronger than ever before.

Stories like the miracle of Johi inspire our work in Pakistan. The Open Society Foundations is committed to find inspirational people and dedicated community organizations that work together to together to find and implement local solutions for local problems.