“It only got so much local and international coverage, then the media moved on, everyone moved on and it was kind of sad,” Pooja Jaeel said in reference to the July 11 terrorist bombings of train stations in Mumbai, India. Jaeel felt compelled to make a difference and, to date, has raised more than $1,000 to help the victims and their families of the devastating attacks.
A junior at Amador Valley High School, Jaeel went online to design buttons as a “thank you” for donating and then headed off to local businesses, neighborhoods and Rotary meetings to explain her cause and ask for help. “That’s basically how we did all of our fundraising,” Jaeel said. Once all the donations are in, Jaeel plans on sending the funds to an organization founded by the wives of the railroad workers in India who will then distribute the money to those in need.
Jaeel took on the project with the help of family and friends about a month ago. Motivated by her native ties to the area, and affected by the forgotten grief and devastation that Mumbai citizens sustained, she has been stalwart in trying to do her part to help. She even went to places like Cupertino where she had her friends take her around their neighborhoods. Jaeel found that most were willing and excited to lend to such a cause.
More than 200 people were killed and nearly 700 injured in the July 11 Mumbai train station attacks, with seven stations hit along the Suburban Railway within a span of 11 minutes. While the terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Qahhar claimed responsibility for the bombings three days later, the investigation is still on-going with police detaining more than 300 suspects since July 18.
–Jackie Pugh
