Our Story
World Water Hub (WWH) emerged from Ayo Oum Shanti’s lifelong love of rivers and waters. When she was living near Assi Ghat in Varanasi, she spent her afternoons sitting at the banks of Ma Ganga, watching her waters and being mesmerized by Ma Ganga’s responses to the mountainous monsoon clouds above her. WWH (previously The River Project-Ma Ganga: RPMG) began with the convergence of Ayo's experience with the Ganges River, her partner's love for his native country, and her experience working at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, a research center where shared information and collaboration were urgently needed in the search for cures.
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Ayo at first envisioned RPMG as an online site that would focus on the Ganges River and also serve as a global hub for river restoration. Groups focused on rivers could share their experiences as well as learn from others about indigenous practices, scientific research, and innovative solutions. Local communities could have a voice, participate, and collaborate in developing viable solutions to the politically, socially, and economically complex problems involving water management, water sources, and rivers.
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Ayo shared her vision with friends who also loved rivers. Together they formed a team and began researching river issues, current projects, innovation, and indigenous solutions. The River Project-Ma Ganga was born.
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The more they researched and the more they explored possibilities for effective community engagement regarding water issues, the more it became clear to Ayo that the real challenge is humanity’s relationship to water itself, in any form, and how that relationship needed to be changed. She could see the need for bringing water awareness into the world. This led to the foundation of the World Water Hub. ​
(With inspiration from KK. Bahut pyar.)