Background
Sustained water security depends on informed and engaged communities. The JalDoot program works with school students to build awareness around safe drinking water practices and shared responsibility. Launched in Assam in 2023, the program showed early promise. During 2024–25, Arghyam supported the scale-up of JalDoot across the state, with a focus on improving program quality, aligning student actions with Jal Jeevan Mission priorities and strengthening the sustainability of youth engagement.
SOLUTION
Our Approach
The 2024–25 phase focused on expanding reach while improving the depth of engagement. The program scaled to all 33 districts of Assam and engaged 53,360 students as JalDoots. Technical support was provided to the State JalDoot Cell to strengthen training content and delivery through structured JalShalas.
Digital tools, including a WhatsApp chatbot, were used to send reminders and guide simple actions related to water safety and conservation. At the same time, learning studies conducted during the year highlighted that digital engagement alone was insufficient to sustain motivation. Physical interaction spaces such as JalShalas and Jal Addas emerged as critical enablers of continued participation.
Operational challenges, including interruptions in chatbot functionality, were documented and addressed to improve the overall experience. External studies commissioned during the year examined barriers to participation and identified opportunities to strengthen program design.
By combining digital communication with regular offline interaction, the program demonstrated how students can play an active role in strengthening community awareness and participation in water governance at scale.
