Raising awareness of the Bhopal gas tragedy and funds to sustain a free lunch program for the disabled children at Chingari Rehabilitation Center, Bhopal, India I am working with Dr. Ann Behrmann, UW-Madison, Professor Lalita du Perron, Associate Director, Center for South Asia, Stanford University, and Dr. Henry Wend, Director, Global Scholars department, University School of Milwaukee to help Bh
opal’s gas leak victims. In the early hours of Monday, December 3, 1984, more than 40 tons of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide India Limited plant, creating a dense cloud over a resident population of about 500,000 people in Bhopal, India. That night, about 6000 people died due to initial inhalation. Approximately 20,000 people have died so far. Today, an estimated 200,000 people suffer from chronic illnesses. The people who live in these communities are poor, illiterate, and helpless. Three decades later, the suffering continues. The children being born to the victims of the gas disaster have an increased risk of congenital birth defects. The toxic waste from the abandoned Union Carbide (now Dow Chemical) plant still lies in the “Solar Evaporation Ponds” which continue to contaminate the groundwater. Chingari Rehabilitation Center, Bhopal, India provides the much needed medical help and counseling to these children. I am raising funds to help sustain a nutrition program, to provide a noon meal to these children. The cost of feeding a child for an entire year is $40.00. The contribution is fully tax-deductible and will be sent to Chingari Trust, a non-profit organization, through PSR (Physicians for Social Responsibility), Wisconsin, 501(c)(3). Please mail a check to PSR Wisconsin with Chingari Trust in the memo line. Our address is 720 Hill St., Suite 200, Madison, WI 53705. Thank you for considering.
