Poonam's Tale of Hope in Bhopal { 89 images } Created 19 Apr 2016
Sometimes a picture has the power to turn fate around: I began visiting Bhopal, India, in August 2009, to document the illnesses experienced by many children as a result of drinking water, contaminated by the American corporation Union Carbide - now DOW Chemical - during years of reckless operations in the city, up to the tragic ‘1984 Gas Disaster’.
Living with his family in a rundown shack of bare soil and cow dung, a victim of this industrial legacy is Sachin, now 23, a young man unable walk due to a paralysis. On a fateful day, during one of my visits to his home, heavy rain began to fall. Sachin’s youngest sister Poonam, then 6, was revelling in the rain, curbing the scorching summer heat.
I started taking pictures immediately: in May 2011, a frame from that propitious moment was assigned 5000 US dollars from 'The Photographers Giving Back’, in Sweden, to create and implement a plan for the wellbeing of Poonam, 15 in 2017, and designed to assist her family overcome extreme poverty. Born ‘unlucky’, with a tiny sixth toe on each foot, her father superstitiously believed she brought misfortune upon the family.
After being offered the exceptional chance of helping my subjects concretely, I engaged in this 'mission' with responsibility and commitment and journalistic integrity. I soon became fascinated to witness real 'change', mental and spiritual, through this family's emotions and experiences, as our support was able to spark a newfound enthusiasm for life among us all.
Now living in a home made of bricks, Poonam's fairy-tale is far from over. As she strives to become a capable, young woman, I intend to photograph her into adulthood, marriage and motherhood, alongside her family and friends. http://poonam.alexmasi.co.uk
Living with his family in a rundown shack of bare soil and cow dung, a victim of this industrial legacy is Sachin, now 23, a young man unable walk due to a paralysis. On a fateful day, during one of my visits to his home, heavy rain began to fall. Sachin’s youngest sister Poonam, then 6, was revelling in the rain, curbing the scorching summer heat.
I started taking pictures immediately: in May 2011, a frame from that propitious moment was assigned 5000 US dollars from 'The Photographers Giving Back’, in Sweden, to create and implement a plan for the wellbeing of Poonam, 15 in 2017, and designed to assist her family overcome extreme poverty. Born ‘unlucky’, with a tiny sixth toe on each foot, her father superstitiously believed she brought misfortune upon the family.
After being offered the exceptional chance of helping my subjects concretely, I engaged in this 'mission' with responsibility and commitment and journalistic integrity. I soon became fascinated to witness real 'change', mental and spiritual, through this family's emotions and experiences, as our support was able to spark a newfound enthusiasm for life among us all.
Now living in a home made of bricks, Poonam's fairy-tale is far from over. As she strives to become a capable, young woman, I intend to photograph her into adulthood, marriage and motherhood, alongside her family and friends. http://poonam.alexmasi.co.uk
