Who we are

Who we are

Ra Foundation is a Mumbai based NGO registered under the Mumbai Public Trust Act 1950, in 2004. The foundation is passionately working with extremely vulnerable children in the urban slums of Mumbai in the area of children's holistic Education. We believe are the pillars of a fulfilling life. We have our 80G, 12A, FCRA licenses and CSR1 certificate.


Ra foundation started off in 2004, with the focus on healthcare by organizing women’s self help groups, to create awareness and save for their medical needs. In 2006, a French woman sighted a girl child, living on the pavements of CST station with her blind parents. Moved by her condition, she approached Ra Foundation to intervene and help the child. After taking the consent of her parents, Ra foundation put her through institutional education and care and at the end of the year, she was a transformed person.

From there began Ra’s journey of identifying the most vulnerable children and providing quality education to them through residential schools. The Happy Kids Program was thus conceptualized. It has now evolved into a programme that does 360 degree intervention into children’s education, their mental and emotional health and overall development by providing a stable and supportive environment during their formative years.

Our Guiding Philosophy

Ra Foundation believes in community empowerment as opposed to a direct charity mode.

We believe that education is not just a recognized fundamental right: it is a powerful force to make a breakthrough from the cycle of poverty and to bring about change in society. However, it doesn’t simply imply being enrolled in a school guarantees one to be effective and fully functional, but requires a caring, nurturing, safe and healthy social and physical environment.

We work with a few students at a time. We cannot change the world at one go, but it is our sincere belief that if we can help a few to change their world, it would make for an inspiring beginning.

Our guiding philosophy

Our Team

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Sunita Machado - Executive Director

Sunita has volunteered in the development space for around 2 decades. She was a Regional head at India Today TV and CNBC TV18 and has over a media career span of 13 years. She has an MBA degree from NMIMS.

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Vaishali Dhruva - Program Manager

Vaishali has over 21 years of experience working in the educational sector especially in fields like counseling, monitoring & evaluation of projects. She has an M.HSc in Education Extension and Comm. in Education and has been a part of RA for 12 yrs.

Renuka Salve - FR & Comms

Renuka is Ra's first alumnus and looks after Fundraising and Communications. She holds a P.G Diploma in Psychological Counseling and has worked in the social sector for a brief period.

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Sunil Ghone - Program Coordinator

Sunil has vast experience in the social sector, especially with children from underprivileged backgrounds. He holds a BEMS degree and has been with RA for the past 2 years.

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Carolyn Fernandes - Program Manager

Carolyn has a B.Ed & a Master's from TISS, she has diverse work ex of 10 yrs across the Edu & Dev sector. She has worked in various capacities at leading ICSE, CBSE & SSC schools. Carolyn has also worked closely with government schools in Mumbai.

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Priyanka Iyengar - Fundraising

With a commitment to education and empowerment in the development sector, Priyanka (they/them) has played integral roles for over six years. As a dedicated creator and educator, they bring a passion for communication and research to their work.

Rukhsana Shaikh - Program Coordinator

With a Master's in Social Work, Rukhsana transitioned from corporate to social work. Passionate about children's development, she finds fulfillment in community impact.

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Trustees & Advisors

Manesh Patel

Manesh Patel

has a BTech from IIT Bombay and a MBA from IIM Bangalore. He is partner at Ernst & Young, a Big 4 Global professional services firm.

Sunil N

Sunil N

is an International Business Leader and is based in London. He started Ra Foundation in 2004, after years of volunteering with various non-profit organizations.

Arjun Mehra

Arjun Mehra

is the CEO & Founder of C&C Talent. He is the former Chief Business Officer of Condé Nast India, where he was the commercial head of Vogue, GQ, Condé Nast Traveller, and Architectural Digest. He is an MBA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Mira Rajput

Mira Rajput

is a celebrity content creator & an angel Investor. She uses her digital presence to spotlight brands, to create content around holistic beauty & wellness. With over 3 million followers on Instagram, Mira is recognized as a millennial voice that matters

Avinash Kothari

Avinash Kothari

is a partner of a luxury designer jewellery firm. His family supports various NGOs and is currently working on community projects in villages around Mumbai involving up-skilling programs collaborating with CSR programs of multinationals.

Luis Miranda

Luis Miranda

is Chairman of Indian School of Public Policy, Centre for Civil Society and CORO. He is involved with Take Charge, Educate Girls, 17000 ft Foundation, Sunbird Trust, SBI Foundation, SNEHA, ATE Chandra Foundation and Samhita and #LivingMyPromise signatory

Kalpana Nayak

Kalpana Nayak

Retired as Principal Scientist from Hindustan Unilever Research Centre, Bangalore. She holds a post-graduation in Microbiology from Mumbai University.