Ra Foundation
Supports children from vulnerable background to live to their full potential with education and growth
- Bronze Certified 2023
- FCRA
- 80G
- 12A
About
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Headquarters
Mumbai, Maharashtra
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Since
2004
Ra Foundation is a Mumbai-based registered NGO, working with extremely vulnerable children to transform their lives through education and help them re Read morealize their full potential. Our intervention in the space of children's education and wellbeing is through the Happy Kids program . Ra Foundation identifies children who are vulnerable due to the environment at home i.e. due to loss of parents, abuse, extreme deprivation etc, through partners like Akanksha, TFI fellows, CORP etc. The team handholds the kids into a safer environment through quality residential schooling in Panchgani, Nashik, Pune, parallelly addressing counselling, healthcare and mentorship needs thereby providing an ecosystem for education and growth. The intervention continues till the completion of education, so as to eliminate the risks of dropouts, child labor and child marriage.
Issue
India is a country having the world’s second-largest population of 1.21 billion, including approximately 40 percent of children. With approximately 172M children at risk, India is estimated to have nearly 35M children in need of care and protection. This has been amplified further with the Covid-19 crisis; the economic crisis at the family level and loss of parents’ income due to COVID-19 could push 117 million more children into poverty, amounting to 700 million children living in poor households by the end of the year in the absence of mitigating policies. The multi-layered distress of vulnerable families impede them from providing a fair chance for the child to achieve their full potential. This issue is only 10x amplified in cases of single-parent/no-parent situations which is one of the key vulnerabilities we address. In single-parent households, the parent is left with no time for child care as she/he has to be the breadwinner. This exposes the child to living in the community without parental care. These impact the system through: Increased dropouts from academic and potential long-term career paths while prioritizing immediate sustenance over sustainability; Disruption of the social fabric of the family increases the risk of child marriage, violence and abuse, child labour, financial exploitation and so on; Increased mental health burden in the system reducing overall economic productivity.
Action
Ra Foundation works with a three-pronged approach. All our all three pathways involve establishing a sense of self-worth. Once children believe that they are important people and are deserving of success in life, we delve into deeper character cultivation and skill-building. Ra kids are continuously encouraged to try new things and make healthy life choices. We take the parents along the way so that they are equally involved stakeholders. While the responsibility to care is shared between the parents and Ra Foundation, it helps the parents to build their capability and spend their energy on providing support to their children and visualize a future for their children with them. 1. Education and Career: We are addressing the multi-layered vulnerability through this pathway which lays a strong foundation for the child’s future by de-linking the child out of the vulnerable context that allows no disruption in their education and future career. Our program focuses on preparing the child through critical transitions of primary, secondary, college and eventually a sustainable career pathway that brings together the aptitude and the interest of the child. They are supported financially, academically and emotionally for over 15+ years once enrolled. One of our unique differentiators is that the child is enrolled in a boarding school away from their context. This ensures no dropout, the child’s well-being is not impacted by any violence, abusive patterns or neglect and the focused environment gives the child the opportunity to flourish. This supports the parents by allowing them to focus their energy on addressing other challenges that will reduce some burden of socio-economic pressure in the household and have a better capacity to be equipped with skills . around positive parenting and role-modelling. This builds a support system for the child where the parent/caregiver is consistently involved. There is also increased confidence that their child will be able to have a safe future. Healthy and Sustainable Life Choices: Ra Foundation seeks to bring out and reinforce children’s inherent resilience and adaptability, supporting them in making rational, ethical, and sustainable healthy choices all along the way. There is a high possibility of children growing up in this context being tempted to engage in risky behaviour. There are socio-emotional skill building for the children and the parents, mentorship models that offer support and constructive criticism. The children grow up to build an understanding that decisions have consequences which creates a framework for decision-making with far-sightedness, a sense of judgement and discernment. Healthy Social Fabric of the Family: Our program works with the family and the children to demonstrate tolerance, empathy and ways of working and communicating with each other. While this may not work in all contexts since abusive patterns of the cyclic nature of the vulnerability is hard to break, it allows the child to understand what is healthy and where to draw boundaries in their context. It builds resilience, respect and they are equipped to care for each other. Their adaptive capacity to conflict resolution and stability increases.
Demographies Served
Cause Area
Sub Sector
Impact
Academic: Total Children enrolled in the program – 65 nos Total Children currently in the Program – 33 nos Total Alumni – 32 nos Financial Independence: All alumni who have passed out of the program are professionally employed and independent. 1 Alumnus is on a career break due to maternity. Health: All 65 children are healthy and do not have any sign of malnutrition, deficiency or stunting Personal Development: Each child in the program cultivates a personal hobby or talent that they continue to pursue along their academic development. Some of them undertake formal training to hone their skills and talents through online courses, or skill based trainings by other NGO’s or through hobby classes. Knowledge of their skills and talents helps them make life and career choices.
Programs
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The Happy Kids Program
StateThe goal of Ra's Happy Kids Program is to provide children from disadvantaged and especially vulnerable families with the opportunity to reach their full social and academic potential, which is essential to happiness in life. Through the residential schooling model, the Foundation offers children access to high-quality education and a safe, nurturing, and inspiring environment, facilitating transformation in them. In addition, the Foundation communicates with parents/guardians and school officials, provides regular health and counselling support, and stays in touch with the kids during the summer. To guarantee the children's financial independence, the program provides support till the conclusion of their academic cycle.
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Ra Foundations' Engagement
StateRa serves as their foster parent to meet all of their needs and hopes to give them the finest experiences possible, just like we would for our children, to support the Happy Kids program's goal of improving the children's intellectual, emotional, and physical well-being.
Creating a happy home atmosphere motivates parents and guardians to offer support.
expert counselling assistance.
The following benefits are offered: quarterly follow-up, medical insurance, and annual physicals.
Make travel plans for school and home twice a year during the holidays to ensure the child is not left alone.
Regular evaluation of academic achievement and guidance.
Quarterly reports provide partners and donors with regular information on the child's development.
Workshops, events, excursions, extracurricular activities, hobby and craft lessons.
selection and collaboration with reputable educational institutions.
Leadership Team
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Sunita Machado
Executive Director
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Renuka Salve
Fundraising & Communications Executive
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Priyanka Iyengar
Fundraising Associate
Demographics & Structure
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No. of Employees
6-20
M&E
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Internal, External Assessors
No
Policies
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Ethics and Transparency Policies
No
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Formal CEO Oversight & Compensation Policy
No
Political & Religious Declarations
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On Affiliation if any
No
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On Deployment Bias if any
No
Registration Details
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PAN Card
AACTR2461G
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Registration ID
E21879
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12A
AACTR2461GE20214
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80G
AACTR2461GF20214
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FCRA
083781219
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CSR Registration Number
Not Available
Location
Other Details
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Type & Sub Type
Non-profit
Trust