About Page - CACR

About CACR

WE ARE A NETWORK OF LIKE MINDED CITIZENS ENSURING GOOD QUALITY EDUCATION & HEALTH FOR ALL CHILDREN

THE BEST WAY TO FIND YOURSELF IS TO LOSE YOURSELF IN THE SERVICE OF OTHERS

Our Story

Citizens Association for Child Rights (CACR) is a non-profit organization. We work in Behavioral Change Communication Programs in Municipal schools of Mumbai. We have reached 56,000 children from 395 schools over the years with our Personal Hygiene Management and Menstrual Hygiene Management programs. Furthermore, we have conducted specialized programs on activation of School Management Committees (SMCs)

Furthermore, we have conducted specialized programs on activation of School Management Committees (SMCs) and Child cabinets, Digital literacy classes for schools, Teacher training and a Mid-day meal monitoring program. In our endeavors, we have closely collaborated with the Education Department of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) to improve the delivery of education systems to the children in Municipal schools.

Our Mission

Implement value-added projects for children and communities in the field of education, hygiene and sanitation, nutrition, gender equality, and mental health. Bridge gap between policies and people to ensure children's rights.

Our Vision

Transforming the lives of underprivileged children by implementing and improving policies and programs on Education, WASH, Nutrition, Gender equality, and Child Protection.

Our Team

Directors

Advisory

Team

Nitin Wadhwani

FOUNDER
DIRECTOR
CEO

INDRANI MALKANI

DIRECTOR

MOHINDER PAL SINGH BACHHER

DIRECTOR

Veeraraghavan Ranganathan

Chairperson, Advisory Committee

Lara Shankar

Advisory

Mohindru Mirchandani

Advisory

Chhaya Angadi

Advisory

Suraj Lala

Advisory

Aswhin Kumar Shetty

Advisory

Shubhangini Ashok Joshi

Advisory

Trupti Bhatt

Advisory

Raeesa Patel

CACR TEAM

Suvarna Ghadge

CACR TEAM

Sheetal Patel

CACR TEAM

Nitin Wadhwani

FOUNDER
DIRECTOR
CEO

Nitin Wadhwani, Founder Director of CACR comes with a professional experience of 35+ years in the field of industrial electronics. He started as a donor to a leading NGO, which was followed by his involvement as a volunteer for a few years before anchoring the initiative Mumbaiites for Child Rights for a couple of years and finally establishing Citizens Association for Child Rights as a Section 8 non-profit organization. An opportunity to partner with IIT Bangalore to implement Computer Literacy Program in MCGM schools helped in not only teaching computers to children in municipal schools but also conducting training of teachers to improve the sustainability of the program.

In 2017, CACR's work in municipal schools and connection with the MCGM Education Department was appreciated by UNICEF Maharashtra and CACR was selected as the first urban development partner for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene).

Nitin strongly believes in empowering and providing value addition programs for children and their parents and works jointly with the education department to ensure the scalability and sustainability of these programs.

INDRANI MALKANI nee MUKHERJEE

DIRECTOR

Indrani Malkani nee Mukherjee is the Chairman and Managing Trustee of V Citizens Action Network (VCAN) and is an Ashoka Fellow. Beginning her career with the Taj Group of Hotels, she rose to become the Conventions and Conference Manager of The Taj Palace Convention Hotel, Delhi. She coordinated various National and International Conventions. She moved to Mumbai when she married Capt. Ashok Malkani.

Her specialty at work was in Logistics, Co-ordination and Troubleshooting, developing what was commonly known as “people skills”- an expertise which remains one of her major strengths in the work she does even today.

In Mumbai, she has involved herself in civic and community issues, particularly contentious ones, where her belief has been to develop sustainable solutions in partnership with the Authorities. Among the organizations she works with are, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), Mumbai Police, various State Government departments, the Election Commission of India and State Election Commission of Maharashtra.

She founded the ALM of Little Gibbs Roads in Malabar Hill, which was instrumental in starting MCGM’s “Integrated Relay Transport System of Segregated Waste Collection” in 2000. The success of which led MCGM to take execute this system across Mumbai.

One of her more successful projects was to conceptualize and implement the Model School Bus Service, for the safe and secure transportation of school children. This safe and efficient system was accepted as a model on which the State of Maharashtra has based its Policy of Transportation of School Children. She is a Member of the Government Committee which formed this Policy and is now implementing the said Policy. She is also Member of the Road Safety Patrol Traffic Advisory Committee Traffic Police Mumbai.

Apart from being a Member of the High Court Appointed Monitoring Committee for the Girgaum Chowpatty Beach, she is a Sitting Panel Member in the Lok Adalat of the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Maharashtra, and a Member of the State Committee on Electoral Literacy. She is Co-Convener of INTACH Greater Mumbai (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) and a Director in Citizens Association For Child Rights (CACR). She is also a Member of the Internal Complaints Committees for Sexual Harassment of Women in multiple Companies.

To establish effective linkages between Government and Citizens, her Trust V Citizens Action Network (VCAN) runs a Web Portal www.togethervcan.in, which deals with multiple issues that effects a Citizen’s daily life on a single platform and also conducts a live talk show series titled “TogetherVCAN's SOCIAL SANCHAR” with the motto “Interact with your Government from wherever you are". During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Social Sanchars have been expanded with a new series called 'Health and Wellbeing' featuring leading Doctors and Healthcare Professionals as Speakers.

Indrani Malkani has been invited to speak at various fora on issues ranging from Safe Transportation of school children, Road Safety, Role of Cooperative Housing Societies in the Electoral Processes, Solid Waste Management, Civil Society and NGOs role in Disaster Management, Lok Adalat, to Consumer Rights etc.

She has also been invited to be a Panelist on multiple television channels as well as being interviewed on radio shows.

She has received many awards and recognitions, including the Mumbai Police Gaurav Patra and Medal, IBG Excellence Award for Public Service, Featured among 26 Mumbai Heroes by the Mumbai Mirror – 2013, Loreto College (her alma mater) – Alumnae Achiever’s Award - Centenary Year, Vocational award for Outstanding Contribution for Betterment of Public Service in Mumbai City by Rotary Club of Mumbai South, Personal award received in 2002 for “Swachcha Mumbai Abhiyan” by MCGM and being an Ashoka Fellow.

She firmly believes in working in Partnership with the Statutory Authorities, towards achievable goals and start a movement and find the will and power to sustain it.

MOHINDER PAL SINGH BACHHER

DIRECTOR

Mohinder Pal Singh Bachher is a businessman trained in Marine equipment Sales & Support. His Marine business includes selling equipment and spares for ships, representing marine equipment manufactures from U.K, New Zealand, Germany, and India.

He has also undertaken first-level training for Water Jets, Out Board Motors, and Stabilisers. He lives in Mumbai with his wife Jatinder Pal Kaur and two children Payal Arora and Harpreet Arora who are now married and settled in Delhi.

Mr. M.P.SINGH has been the Past President of the Rotary Club of Bombay Bandra and is involved in many social activities looking after the underprivileged. He is associated with the Guru Harkishan School, Santa Cruz west as a Life Member, and the H West Ward federation. Being a very Social person he is also connected with many social and cultural organizations and is approachable for any call of duty. He advocates and endorses CACR activities and strongly believes in creating awareness in citizen's participation on Child Rights issues with a focus on ensuring free, quality & compulsory education for all children.

ASWHIN KUMAR SHEETY

Advisory

Assistant Trainer 2017 -18 Presently member of Rotary Club of Bombay East Joined Rotary in 1997 Elected President 2005- 2006 Community Service and Fellowship were the flagship areas of this year

Techno Legal Consultant on the Panel of all leading Banks and Financial Institutions as Real Estate Technical Evaluator and Appraiser. Graduated in Civil Engineering from the renowned VJTI in 1978 and after a span of three decades completed his Masters in Constitutional Law from Mumbai University.

Spouse Mamatha is the Academic Co-ordinator of ISC section of Bombay Scottish School, Mahim, Mumbai. Daughters, Kaushalya and Janhvi are both in the Legal field. One working in Corporate Law and other in Media Laws. Son-in-law Sandeep, an IIM Alumnus is presently Facilities Director at Fortis Hospitals, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi.

Passionate about Movies, cricket, community service and lives life as “AAM AADAMI”.

Veeraraghavan Ranganathan

Chairperson, Advisory Committee

Shri Ranganathan was Independent Director on the Board of Indian Oil Corporation from 2003 to 2008.He was Chairman of Indian Institute of Public Administration,Maharashtra Regional Branch and continues to be on its Executive Committee. He was a member of the Local Managing Committee of Nirmala Niketan,running an outstanding College of Social Work for 10 years.

Shri Ranganathan was chairman,High Level Monitoring Committee for Matheran Eco Sensitive Zone constituted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests for 6 years. He was Chairman of the Heritage Committee for Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani.He was Convener of INTACH(Indian National Trust For Art & Cultural Heritage) for Maharashtra and Chairman,Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee. Shri Ranganathan is Chairman,Board of Trustees,Sri Ranganatha Paduka Trust,a religious and cultural organisation in Mumbai. He is Chairman Mumbai Advisory Committee of TTD (Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams).He is also Chairman,Managing Committee Balaji Mandir Dombivli.

Born in 1942,Shri V.Ranganathan did his M.Sc in Chemistry from St Stephen's College,Delhi.After working as a college lecturer in Delhi for a year,he joined the Indian Administrative Service in the year 1965. During his service career of 37 years Shri Ranganathan held various positions in Government of India and Government of Maharashtra including Joint Secretary,Department of Atomic Energy,Additional Chief Secretary(Home) and Municipal Commissioner,Mumbai.He retired in September 2002 as Chief Secretary to the Government of Maharashtra.

After retirement from Government,Shri Ranganathan has been associated with various NGOs working in educational and social sectors.From 2002 to 2118 he was associated with K.J.Somaiya Trust running a large number of educational and community service institutions in Maharashtra,Karnataka and Gujarat as Chief Adviser and later Secretary. He was Chairman of the Internal Audit Committee of National Association for the Blind,India,the largest NGO in the disability sector in India. He is a member of the Managing Committee of the NAB Home for Aging Blind Khandala.He is associated with ALERT India,working in the areas of leprosy TB and AIDS. He is a Trustee of VCAN,an NGO serving as a bridge between the citizens and public authorities.

Shubhangini Ashok Joshi

Advisory

Shubhangini Ashok Joshi is a highly experienced educator, researcher, and nutrition expert with a career spanning over 37 years. She completed her BSc and MSc in Food Science & Nutrition from SNDT Women’s University, along with a Post-Graduate Diploma in Educational Management. Having retired as the In-Charge Principal of P.V. Polytechnic, SNDT Women’s University, she continues to contribute to the field as a visiting faculty, guiding MSc students and teaching subjects like Food Processing, Preservation, and Food Chemistry.

Her research journey includes supervising over 15 postgraduate theses and two international research scholars from VNL University, Amsterdam. She has directed nearly 30 undergraduate projects on Food Technology and has co-authored research papers, including studies on food security in HIV/AIDS-affected households in India. Her renowned book, “Nutrition and Dietetics”, published by McGraw-Hill, remains a key resource, now in its fifth edition.

Post-retirement, Shubhangini Joshi remains actively engaged in promoting public health and nutrition. She has developed two products under the trademark ‘HyproMil’ — a high-protein ready-to-use flour and a gluten-free flour. As an advisor to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) on their Mid-Day Meal Program, she works closely with NGOs to improve child nutrition.

She is also a master trainer for FSSAI’s Safe and Nutritious Food at Schools (SNF@Schools) initiative. During the COVID-19 lockdown, she conducted several webinars to spread awareness about traditional Indian diets and healthy eating. Her efforts in training over 2,000 school teachers in collaboration with MCGM and UNICEF reflect her commitment to building a healthier future. She continues to be an advocate for indigenous diets, sustainable nutrition, and food security, contributing to both academic and social initiatives across India.

Chhaya Subhashchandra Angadi

Advisory

Ms. Chhaya Subhashchandra Angadi is an accomplished educator and microbiologist with over 33 years of teaching experience. She retired as the In-Charge Principal of the Department of Medical Laboratory Technology at P.V. Polytechnic, SNDT Women’s University. With a B.Sc. in Microbiology (First Class with Honours) and an M.Sc. in Microbiology (Higher Second Class) from the University of Mumbai, she has contributed significantly to the field of medical education and laboratory technology. Her research spans over five years, including a Junior Research Scholarship from the Government of Maharashtra to study experimental malaria and amoebiasis.

She has been actively involved in syllabus development for Good Laboratory Practices & Ethics for L.H. Hiranandani Hospital, Mumbai, and has guided several projects, including a survey on hemoglobin concentration in women in Mumbai and a study on factors influencing student performance in medical laboratory technology. Ms. Angadi has co-authored laboratory manuals and contributed chapters to Tata McGraw-Hill's publication on Medical Laboratory Technology.

Ms. Angadi has attended numerous national and international conferences, workshops, and training programs, focusing on various aspects of clinical microbiology, laboratory techniques, and effective teaching practices. She is a registered PhD candidate at SNDT Women’s University, with research on mutagenicity, antimutagenicity, and antibacterial activities of natural substances.

Additionally, she has been a member of the Board of Studies for M.Sc. Microbiology and an examiner for the University of Mumbai. Her work with the Citizen Association for Child Rights (CACR) on a computer literacy program for BMC school teachers showcases her dedication to social causes. Over the years, Ms. Angadi has received several accolades, including the Open Merit Scholarship from the University of Mumbai and recognition for her research at national conferences.

She remains an active contributor to the academic and professional community through her consultancy, teaching, and mentorship roles.

LARA SHANKAR

Advisory

Lara Shankar Chandra has over 15 years of experience in the field of child rights, child protection, adolescence and gender, community development, education and housing and sanitation in India.

She has done a variety of work ranging from directly interacting and training street children, monitoring and evaluation, qualitative research, process documentation and case studies, building citizen action and child rights campaigning to analyzing and advocating policy changes in education. Lara was instrumental in initiating a citizen’s campaign for quality education for all children in Mumbai. The citizen’s campaign from 2007 is today a registered NGO namely CACR in Maharashtra!

In the housing and sanitation sector in India, Lara has lead strategy, initiated Coalition and forged strategic partnerships for fund raising, policy implementation and intervention. She has worked with grassroots implementing NGOs like Butterflies, Saathi, Childline India Foundation and Balprafulta. She has spent a large part of her career with leading national and international organizations like CRY, UNICEF and Habitat for Humanity India.

After over a decade and a half in the social sector in India, she aspires to develop strategies for orchestrating social impact, strengthening programs and building partnerships and models for replication and scale. With a Masters degree in Child Development and years of experience in interacting and working with grassroots level NGOs, she has a strong program background to her analysis and writings. Her skillsets include advocacy, government partnerships, networking, stakeholder management, strategic envisioning, program development, campaigning, communication and documentation.

Lara Shankar Chandra was brought up in Delhi where she attended Loreto Convent School and did her Masters from Lady Irwin College, Delhi University. She now lives in Mumbai with her husband Manu Chandra and two children Sahil and Rishabh. Lara currently leads Strategy at Habitat for Humanity India.

Suraj Lala

Advisory

Suraj K.Lala is a chartered Accountant by profession with around 18 plus years of experience in varied areas of accountancy, audit, taxation,finance & human resource.

In addition he also holds a diploma in IFRS from ACCA London. Prior to pursuing his dream to start a consultancy and a audit firm, he has worked with many corporates in various industry categories from infrastructure to telecom, marine to BPO and the last tenure being with a financial consultancy company, post which he left a lucrative career to start “FACT”.

Suraj, has always been a core member of the management team involved in planning and implementation of various strategic decisions & possess strong organizational, leadership, decision making, mentoring relationship management skills, while maintaining high standards of personal performance and professionalism with ability to relate to people at any level of business and management.

Mohindru Mirchandani

Advisory

Mohindru Mirchandani, 73, is a retired Engineer and Finance professional, has been associated with CACR (and with its previous avatar M4CR) for a decade and a half. The attempt has been to help uplift the underprivileged segment of Society, in whatever way it can be done.

CACR is the first partner of UNICEF in Urban India. This partnership is invaluable and greatly helps CACR to strengthen its efforts and widen its reach.

CACR is not into Education per se, but focuses largely on related critical areas which indirectly impact learning outcomes. The effort has been to ensure that the system works & delivers efficiently. CACRs works in MCGM and peripheral Corporations, Gram Panchayats and Zilla Parishad and Local Body schools with focus on the welfare of underprivileged children. CACARs initiatives include Health, Nutrition, Hygiene, Social Behavioural Change Communication (SBCC) and Information, Education and Communication (IEC). These are critical but lesser visible and talked about sectors, forming the backbone of a better Society in the years to come.

There is a conscious effort to sensitise adolescent students - boys, girls and also parents. CACR delivery with efficient logistics and good last mile connectivity have greatly helped.

Some programmes initiated by CACR have been scaled up by the authorities and today form a part of the curriculum in MCGM schools. In the interiors there is little awareness about today’s opportunities. There is an attempt to improve the situation and provide greater opportunities in the interior areas as well. Thanks to our well-wishers and associates for their support. With their support, CACR will continuously endeavour to make a wider impact on the welfare of underprivileged children.