WHO WE ARE
We are a diverse team with subject expertise and 22 years of on ground experience working in the most vulnerable regions of India.
We work with government departments, community groups and civil society partners across India to make keeping children safe a priority for everyone.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
GLOBAL FUND FOR CHILDREN SUSTAINABILITY AWARD
Aangan received this honor from the Global Fund for children in 2008.
ASHOKA FELLOWSHIP FOR LEADING SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS
Aangan founder Suparna Gupta was awarded this fellowship in 2009 for the innovative model she created for child protection in India.
THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION COMMUNITY HERO AWARD
Aangan was the 2010 recipient of the Thomson Reuters Foundation Community Hero Award.
ASIA 21 YOUNG LEADER
Suparna Gupta received this award in 2011.
EDWARD S. MASON FELLOWSHIP FROM HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL
Suparna Gupta was the recipient of this fellowship for 2012-2013.
JUBILANT BHARTIA SCHWAB FOUNDATION SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
Suparna Gupta received this honor in 2014.
REX KARAMVEER GLOBAL FELLOWSHIP
Aangan Director Smita Dharmamer received the prestigious Rex Karamveer Global Fellowship for her work to give women a voice in 2015.
NDTV WOMEN OF WORTH IN SOCIAL IMPACT
Suparna Gupta was named one of L'oreal and NDTV's women of worth in social impact in 2015.
MUMBAI MIRROR MUMBAI HEROES
Aangan-trained women volunteers were voted winners of Mumbai Mirror's Mumbai Heroes award in 2015.
HARVARD ASH CENTER FOR DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE & INNOVATION
Suparna Gupta was a finalist for this award from the Ash Center in 2016.
CII FOUNDATION WOMAN EXEMPLAR AWARD
Aangan field team member Kalpana Mistry was the CII Foundation's Woman Exemplar in 2016.
CNBC TV YOUNG WOMEN'S SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR LIST
Aangan founder Suparna Gupta was named one of CNBC's Top 20 Young Women's Social Entrepreneurs in 2016.
ADVISORY BOARD
Rumana Hamied
Managing Trustee,
Cipla Foundation
Minal Vazirani
Co-Founder,
Saffronart
Sheena Parikh
Joint Managing Director, TechNova Group
Alok Kshirsagar
Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company
Natasha Jamal
Independent Philanthropist
Donald Lobo
Executive Director,
Chintu Gudiya Foundation
Neera Nundy
Co-Founder, Dasra
GOVERNING BOARD
Suparna Gupta
Founder, Aangan
Tasneem Ali
Chief Creative Officer, FutureBrand India
Shailja Mehta
Director, Dasra
Our Approach
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Ankit Macwan
Head, Integrating Child Protection
Dr. Smita Dharmamer
Associate Director
Kanika Saraff
Head, Policy Advocacy and Communications
Purva Narain
Head, Curriculum
Sudeshna Basu
Head, Program - Jharkhand
Atiya Bose
Chief Executive Officer
Garima Gupta
Head, Knowledge and Impact
Khushboo Satia
Head, Finance
Sanghamitra Sinharay
Head, Knowledge and Impact
Chaitali Sheth
Chief Operations Officer
Iram Parveen
Head, Program - Bihar
Mansi Kanv
Head, Human Resource
Srabonti Ghosh
Head, Program - West Bengal
Given the status of child harm in India, it’s urgent for adults everywhere to know how to identify a child in need of protection and how to respond to them, because children deserve an active, capable and strong protection system. We are all a part of that system – family, community, government, civil society and concerned citizen.
So that’s what Aangan does – we build and strengthen the capability of key stakeholders in children’s lives and help them design the necessary child safety solutions that are relevant to their role and responsibility.
Fundamentally, we believe it’s not as much about expertise, as it is about commitment, and doing the work.
OUR JOURNEY
Our preoccupation with children’s safety started in one government child care institution in Mumbai where we met rescued children who had experienced severe harm. Over the last 20 years, our understanding of what vulnerable children need has deepened. Here’s a snapshot view of how our thinking and work have evolved.
2000
AANGAN IS REGISTERED
Aangan was registered on September 29, 2000, with a mission to serve the most vulnerable children
2002- 2005
WORKING WITH CHILD SURVIVORS
Understanding children’s needs post-harm through extensive psychosocial, trauma and rehabilitation work with child survivors of trafficking, labour, child marriage, exploitation and abuse in government childcare institutions (CCI)
in Mumbai and Bhiwandi
2006- 2008
MONITORING RESCUE HOMES
IN MAHARASHTRA
We published ‘Changing Spaces’, an action report that brought the voices of rescued children to the attention of the Maharashtra Department of Women and Child Development. Aangan was then appointed by the State to monitor 100 CCIs in order to improve treatment and care for children
2009- 2013
BUILDING EFFECTIVE CHILD CARE INSTITUTIONS
In partnership with UNICEF, we introduced the country’s first Tool to measure Standards of Care to improve conditions in state-run CCIs. We were appointed by Child Welfare Departments in 16 states to introduce a monitoring and capacity-building system using our Tool. In this period we worked with 75,00 frontline officials in 650 rescue homes serving 150,000 child survivors
EXPANDING INTO HARM PREVENTION
We also launched community-based programs for adolescent girls and boys in high-risk locations (source districts where children in CCIs were coming from). Programs Shakti for girls and Chauraha for boys built resilience, empowered children with knowledge of laws and an understanding of risk, and involved work with families and local government officials to safeguard children.
2013- 2016
PACT- A COMMUNITY MODEL FOR CHILD PROTECTION
Convinced that we needed to focus on preventing child harm, we launched Program PACT - Parents and Children Against Trafficking and Harm - to engage entire communities in child harm prevention by leveraging the power of parents and community knowledge and insights to keep children safe. Across 86 locations in six states, PACT trained 15,00 community volunteers to work on issues of child harm with 520 government officials, 250,00 at-risk children and 23,000 vulnerable families making 300,000 children safer.
2017- 2022
HOTSPOT TO SAFE: SCALING CHILD HARM PREVENTION
Across 6 Hotspot districts of child harm we demonstrated at scale a multi-sectoral model for child harm prevention that activated local government officials (police, education, panchayats) to be accountable and responsive; trained and mobilized community women to identify and respond; built mechanisms for regular dialogue between stakeholders; democratized data collection and usage to prioritize issues, and increased children’s access to safety information through peer networks
QUICK SNAPSHOT
22 years
OF FIELD WORK
16
INDIAN STATES
22+
MOUs WITH GOVT DEPARTMENTS
25+
CSO PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS
20 lakh+
CHILDREN IMPACTED OVERALL
Everyone who works with children, directly or indirectly, should know how to keep them safe. We're committed to helping you do that.
Our framework for child protection - Listen, Identify, Support and Respond - is adaptable for all kinds of partners, be they government, civil society or communities. If you're ready to make child protection a part of your work - talk to us. We’d like to help you do it. Write to us at contact@aanganindia.org