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 PAN International Website |
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The Bhopal Gas Tragedy 1984 - ?
The tragedy continues
If you happen to pass by the derelict Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal, nothing would strike you as out of the ordinary. It looks like any other abandoned factory. Rust has set in and creepers are growing over the machinery. The only sign of life is a bored watchman who isn't sure what exactly he is supposed to watch.
Apart from the angry graffiti scrawled on the walls, there is no visible link between this rotting structure and the worst industrial disaster in history. One that has taken the lives of over 16,000 children, women and men and mai med over 500,000 people. And the disaster is far from over.
Prologue
We present the annual report of the Bhopal People's Health and Documentation Clinic, Sambhavna Clinic for short, set up by the Sambhavna Trust. The work 'Sambhavna' in Hindi means possibility. Read as two words - 'Sama' and 'Bhavna' , together it means similar feelings or compassion. Both in terms of the number of months it covers and in its content, this report is different from the usual annual report.
It covers a period of 13 months from March 1, 1997 to March 31, 1998. Those of you who read our first report will notice that this one is about twice the size. That's because we have a lot more to share.
In the chapters that follow, we talk about who we are, what it is that we do, where we get our funds from and why do what we do. We talk about our small successes and our failures. About the support and encouragement we have received form individuals and organisations that have made our work possible.
We are painfully aware that our work at the clinic is far too insignificant to even begin to resolve the lingering medical issues of the disaster either in their or complexity. At the same time we believe every little helps.
Through this report we wish to share our observations and findings, our joys and despair, our limitations and our failures and our conviction and visions.
We look forward to your suggestions for improvement and your continued support.
Contents
Chapter 1. A brief summary
Chapter 2. The
Sambhavna Trust
About the Sambhavna Trust and its members
Fund raising
The International Advisory Group
Chapter 3. The
Sambhavna Clinic
Description of the clinic
Activities at the clinic and in the community
Principles and policies
Chapter 4.
Reports on Work at Sambhavna
Community Health work
Registration and medical record keeping
Allopathic medical care
Dispensation of medicines
Yoga therapy
Massage therapy
Verbal Autopsy
Library & documentation
Computerisation of data
Statement of Accounts
Reports on a study, health camp and seminars
Chapter 5.
Friends of Sambhavna
Volunteers at the clinic
Visitors
Acknowledgements
Chapter 6. Data
Tables Nos. 1 to 15