Usman is 9 years old and has intellectual disability and A.D.H.D. He lives with parents Aamir and Saba in an area of Bhopal close to the site of the abandoned Union Carbide factory, the same place where nearly 40 years ago Saba’s own mother was forced to flee from the clouds of poisonous gas that leaked from the facility and blew across the city. By the time he was 5 years old, Usman had still not learned to speak. Concerned, his parents decided to bring him to the Chingari Children’s Clinic for assessment by the speech therapy team. Despite interruptions to his treatment as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, Usman has made remarkable progress during his 4 years at the centre. With the help of the speech therapists, he slowly learned to better control the movement of his lips and tongue and improve his phonation. This allowed him to begin forming individual words, and with time and hard effort he has progressed to speaking in full simple sentences. As well as his inability to communicate, when he arrived Usman also struggled with his colour and shape perception and comprehension skills, which severely limited his ability to perform independent daily tasks. With the help of occupational therapy, he now has mastered the ability to distinguish colours and shapes. He also has improved cognitive ability and comprehension skills, particularly with words and numbers, and is better able to perform tasks independently, as well as communicate and play with other children. Usman loves chai, particularly from cafes, as well as biryani, dhal, and kebabs. He is pickier about fruit and vegetables but does like apples. He always likes to keep busy and active and likes to be out of the house, whether its trips with his parents or spending time at Chingari.

Disha is 18 years old and has been registered at the Chingari Trust since 2014. A popular and well-liked young person, Disha suffers from intellectual disability. The disability affects Disha’s cognitive functioning, such as learning, problem solving and judgement and this also affects her adaptive functioning, impacting her communication skills and social participation. Like other registered children at Chingari, Disha comes from an intergenerational gas and water affected family. Her father Mahesh and mother Arti are survivors of the 1984 Union Carbide Bhopal gas disaster. Disha’s story is inspirational and captures the spirit of Chingari. When Disha registered at Chingari, she lacked confidence and the ability to undertake routine tasks like carrying and holding items and basic writing skills. Undertaking education classes and physiotherapy, Disha has learnt how to play sports and excels in basketball. With consistent practice and coaching from Chingari’s physical therapists, Disha is recognised as one of India’s finest young basketball players and was selected in their national team for the 2023 Special Olympics World Games in Berlin. A testament to Disha’s skill, she made several appearances throughout the tournament as India won the silver medal: a stunning achievement. Disha’s potential is incredible and is being realised with support from Chingari. She has established herself as one of India’s leading young basketball players and will represent her country in future tournaments.

Ankada is 19 years old and has been receiving care at Chingari from the age of 6 for hearing impairment. Her late father, Jameel, was a gas survivor. When Ankada first came to Chingari she was not able to speak, using signs to communicate and express herself, and her inability to hear meant that she had little understanding of what others were saying to her. The provision of digital hearing aids, audiometric training and speech therapy at Chingari however has been life changing for Ankada. She is now able to hear and understand what people are saying to her and she can now speak at a level that allows her to express her needs and feelings with others and to tell basic stories. Ankada has also been receiving special education at Chingari. Before attending, she was not able to go to normal school, write numbers 1-10 or write complete alphabets, however she has now progressed to such a degree that she is able to attend a normal school, write numbers 1-100, do basic math, create arts and crafts, perform basic computer skills, write the names of days, months and colours in Hindi and English. She is now also able to read Hindi and has completed Quran. Like most children at Chingari, Ankada loves the food served there, especially the Biryani, pasta and noodles and one day she would like to become an air hostess.

Ubesh is 5 years old and has been attending the Chingari Rehabilitation Centre for 3 years. He has developmental delay and suffered health complications after birth, including seizures, Meningitis, and Hyperbilirubinemia, a condition where there is too much bilirubin in the baby’s blood as a result of the breakdown of red blood cells. His grandfather is a survivor of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster, and his parents Nida and Salman, concerned that this could be linked to his health problems, brought him to Chingari for assessment. When Ubesh began treatment at Chingari in February 2021, he was unable to sit, stand, or walk, and could not control his neck muscles enough to hold up his head. He also had muscle tightness in his legs and arms, resulting in poor control of his hands. His breakthroughs in three years of regular physiotherapy have been astounding: he now has full control of his neck; has achieved squatting and cross-legged sitting; can stand and walk independently and is able to hold and manipulate objects with his hands. His progress in speech therapy has been similarly impressive: when he arrived, he could not speak a word and would regularly cry during sessions. After three years of hard work, he can now speak in single words and basic sentences, has improved attention and eye contact, and is much happier in his sessions. With the help of the centre’s special education classes Ubesh is also managing better both in the classroom and at home. He has learned to hold and use a pencil, identify different colours, and to brush his teeth without help. He has also learned to enjoy socialising, both with other children at the centre and when guests visit at home. He loves to eat bananas and watch Spiderman cartoons.

Aksa is 7 years old and has been diagnosed with Mild intellectual disability with locomotor disability. Her paternal grandmother Nafeesa Bee is a survivor of the Bhopal gas disaster. In January 2021 Aksa started attending Chingari where she receives speech therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and attends special education classes. Prior to receiving physiotherapy, Aksa had an abnormal walking pattern and would frequently fall. Her walking, balance and muscle strength have now greatly improved, and she is able to stand, walk unsupported and kneel better than before. Aksa’s poor hand function, posture, coordination, and social skills on starting at Chingari have all seen significant improvement since receiving occupational therapy and speech therapy sessions have seen Aksa go from being able to speak only a few words to being able to speak with clarity to tell stories and converse well. Her previous issues with eye contact, drooling, chewing, and tongue movement are all now resolved. Special education classes have made a big difference to Aksa. Before attending she was unable to hold a pencil, identify fruits and vegetables and had no concept of numbers or alphabets. She has made remarkable progress and is now able to write numbers from 1 to 100, table of 2 and 3 and number names from one to ten. Aksa can also now write the alphabet from A to Z and all the alphabets in Hindi, she can identify ten fruits and ten vegetables and is beginning to read and write their names in Hindi and English. Aksa loves dancing, listening to music and dressing herself, spending time and care in front of the mirror to do her makeup, especially if she attending a marriage party. In the future Aksa would like to join the police.

Salman is 11 years old and suffers from developmental delay. Developmental delay is when a child’s progression through predictable developmental phases slows, stops, or reverses. Salman’s symptoms include slower-than-normal development of motor, cognitive, social, and emotional skills. Salman’s parents, Hafeez and Tasleem, are gas-affected second generation survivors of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster. Their family - like thousands of others in Bhopal - suffer from inter-generational trauma and life changing illnesses from the gas disaster and subsequent water contamination. Hafeez and Tasleem registered Salman at the Chingari Trust in May 2014 when he was 2 years old. A popular child at Chingari Trust, Salman receives speech therapy, physiotherapy, and special education. With regular treatment, Salman has progressed incredibly well, speaking in clear Hindi, and becoming more confident. Staff and other children at the Chingari Trust enjoy Salman’s company. Despite his developmental delay, Salman has learnt the names of the twelve months and seven days. With regular physiotherapy he has learnt to sit independently and can stand with good posture supported by a standing frame. Salman loves music and is often heard humming famous Bollywood songs.

Abaan is 2 years old and suffers from global development delay. The typical causes are chromosomal or genetic abnormalities, which can affect the structure or development of the brain or spinal cord. Abaan’s grandfather, Noor Khan, is a survivor of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster. By the time Abaan was 6 months old he had not yet sat up, crawled, or uttered a single sound. His eyes seemed unable to focus on anything and he was still drooling like an infant. Concerned, his parents Sana and Tariq brought him to the Chingari clinic for assessment. In April 2022, Abaan started treatment at Chingari with regular physiotherapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy sessions. Since beginning physiotherapy, Abaan has managed to achieve many of his missed milestones. Through strengthening of his neck, core, and leg muscles he has learned to roll over, sit up, crawl, and with the help of occupational therapy he can now stand and walk with the support of a carer or a rollator. Occupational therapy has also helped him improve his attention and eye contact, as well as his comprehension. Perhaps his biggest breakthrough has been in speech therapy, where he has progressed from being completely non-verbal to communication with single words like ‘abba’ (‘father’) and ‘amma’ (‘mother’). Recently he has mastered two-word combinations, like ‘abba aao’ (‘father come’) and ‘ball do’ (‘give me the ball’). Abaan is very attached to his father Tariq and loves to go on the back of his bike on long rides. He also loves to play with toys – cars are his favourite.

Sudha is 11 years old and has cerebral palsy. Both of her parents are survivors of the 1984 Union Carbide gas disaster. Studies have shown rates of cerebral palsy in the gas-affected areas of Bhopal are many times higher than elsewhere in the city, and Sudha’s condition is likely due to her parent’s exposure to heavy metals in the methyl isocyanate gas that burned their eyes and choked their lungs all those years ago. Sudha suffers from extreme muscle weakness, frequent involuntary movement in her limbs, and a scissoring pattern of the legs that prevented her learning to stand or walk. By the time she reached 6 years old she was still bedridden. Her mother Yashoda, desperate for help, brought her to the Chingari Rehabilitation Centre for assessment. Chingari’s team of physiotherapists began working daily with Sudha, following a treatment plan designed to slowly strengthen her muscles and reduce involuntary movements. This would be a slow process due to the seriousness of her condition, but after several years of incredible hard work from Sudha, the day came when she was finally able to stand, beaming happily as she clung to Yashoda’s arm. Sudha has now been attending Chingari for 5 years. Today, one year after this picture was taken, Sudha is able to walk with the support of a carer or a rollator. The tightness in her jaw has improved through regular speech therapy exercises, and while before she was completely silent, she is now able to babble, usually a pre-cursor to speech during infancy. After spending years of her childhood unable to interact with other children, Sudha loves spending time at Chingari playing with her friends, as well as the clinic’s collection of toys.