Here is the an update on the progress of HelpMumbai as of January 2009:

Firstly, we thank you for your support for the victims of the Mumbai terror attacks. Here is a brief update about the work done so far by BCPT in this regard as given below.

Of the 70 families of the deceased we had focused on, we have contacted 59 families but were not able to locate 11 families since some addresses were incomplete, homes were locked and phone numbers were wrong.

We now have detailed information from 36 families and are in the process of collecting information from the remaining 23 families.

Of the 36 families whose details we have collected, 18 families have stated that they do not need any support. The remaining, a majority of whom are from the underprivileged sections of society, have left behind

17 minor children
3 minor siblings
5 widows
7 retired, dependent parents
2 widowers and
1 family has lost both parents

For the 20 minor children/siblings we propose a sponsorship of Rs. 2,500 per month per child for their education and maintenance and we would like to distribute the amount once in six months for a period of at least 3 years – 2009, 2010 & 2011. (Rs. 6.00 lakh per year required)

In the cases of 10 deceased who were affected who have left behind widows and /or financially dependent, old parents we propose a lump sum support of Rs. 2.00 lakh to be put in a monthly income deposit scheme. (Rs. 20 lakh required)

We expect that a few more families of the deceased will contact us in the next couple of weeks and estimate that around Rs. 10.00 lakh may be additionally required for their needs.

Of the 80 injured victims to be contacted, the needs of 32 victims are being met by others, 26 do not need any additional support and 7 have not yet been contacted because of inadequate addresses. Thus, presently 15 cases are under consideration. However all of them at present are using the compensation provided by the government and/or railways. A few of them expect that once that is exhausted they may still need support for an additional period of 2 to 4 months. We propose to set aside Rs. 3.00 lakh for medical support if required.

Of the estimated Rs. 51.00 lakh required we have in place commitments for a little above Rs. 15.00 lakh but are hoping that more contributions will continue to pour in.

Thank you for visiting us here and supporting our cause.

Very Best,
The HelpMumbai team.

If you have queries or comments, please write to Netra Parikh, Dina Mehta or Asfaq Tapia at helpmumbai@pinstorm.com