A young student, from the US, recently visited the Chingari Rehabilitation Centre. She has been deeply moved by her experience and inspired to get involved. Please visit her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AssistBhopal
Here is Megan’s story in her own words: My name is Megan Dogra and I am a 10th grade student from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As you may recall, the Bhopal gas leak was one of the world’s worst industrial disasters. On the morning of December 3, 1984, more than 40 tons of methyl isocyante (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide India Limited plant, creating a dense cloud over a resident population of about 500,000 people. That night about 8000 people died due to the toxic gas inhalation and over time there were another 20,000 fatalities related to this disaster. The crisis isn’t over yet; today an estimated 200,000 people suffer from chronic illnesses as a result of this accident. The children being born to the victims of the gas disaster have an increased risk of congenital birth defects, physical malformations and mental disabilities. The toxic waste from the abandoned Union Carbide (now Dow Chemical) still lies in the “Solar Evaporation Ponds” and continues to contaminate the ground water. The people who live in these communities are poor, illiterate and helpless.
During my recent trip to Bhopal in March 2014, I had the opportunity to meet with some of the survivors of this horrific incident and hear the heart wrenching stories of their continued pain and suffering. I has been a very moving, a very life changing experience for me. I have produced a documentary Assist Bhopal, which has been selected to screen at the Milwaukee Film Festival 2014. This documentary is a window for the world to see the ongoing disaster in Bhopal. My Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/AssistBhopal I am doing fundraisers to help the second and third generation victims of the Bhopal gas leak. I am raising funds to help sustain a nutrition program, which provides these children with an afternoon meal at Chingari Rehabilitation Center, Bhopal, India.
