Children’s Hope Board of Trustees
Indira Dhar
Managing Trustee
Born in Kashmir, in a family of professionals. Indra Dhar has grown up in a family who could make a small social impact with their philanthropic values. Educated up to the level of MPhill (Physics) she is currently the Trustee of the Sharika Trust and of The Aman Satya Kachroo Trust. She also runs her own unique IDI Exporters business, which is a leading Hand knitting DesignCompany that provides employment to at least 1000 rural & low income urban women across Northern India. Her strong administrative and accountancy skills are very valuable to Children’s Hope.
Sabina Ramchandani
Trustee
Born and brought up in Uttar Pradesh. Sabina has been passionate about helping and teaching the weaker section of society since her school days. As a teacher at the Indian language school she helped the less academically inclined students with their studies and also started the collection and distribution of food items to the lesser privileged.
Sabina is currently a homemaker and a committee member of the Indian women’s association in Lagos which is involved in social welfare activities. She has also been a member of the rotary club in Lagos for the past two years.
Rajan Sehgal
Trustee
Mr. Sehgal brings over 35 years of experience in banking, corporate finance, and wealth management, having held senior leadership roles across American Express Bank, Merrill Lynch, and Credit Suisse in the U.S., Europe, Middle East, and Africa.
After retiring in 2023, Mr. Sehgal took on advisory and board roles in hedge funds and investment firms. He is currently the Chairman of Jupiter Wealth Advisors, and also founded The Sehgal Private Collection, a single-artist museum in Delhi honoring his father, renowned artist Amar Nath Sehgal.
Children’s Hope Executive Board
Richa Devichand
Director | Operations & Projects
Richa brings over two decades of professional experience spanning aviation, education, and the development sector. After graduating from St. Bede’s College, Shimla, in 1997, she worked in the aviation industry for seven years before moving into the field of education.
She spent the next ten years with The Gnostic Center, contributing to the development of courses in Higher Integral Education. This journey gradually shaped her commitment to community-focused work.
For the past nine years at Children’s Hope, Richa has led key initiatives including the establishment of two CHAHAK Centres at Vikaspuri and Bindapur and the introduction of Early Childhood Education programmes in three MCD schools. She is responsible for overseeing operations, supervising pan-India projects, managing accounts, coordinating fundraisers, and handling the organization’s technical and digital systems.
Children’s Hope Advisory Board Members
Deepa Kashyap
A creative professional, entrepreneur, and committed social worker whose journey has been shaped by a deep belief in creativity, community, and giving back.
A former student of Modern School, Barakhamba Road, Deepa went on to study Applied Arts at the College of Art, Delhi, where she was a Merit Scholar throughout all five years of her course. She began her professional career through a college placement as an Advertising Coordinator with KTI, a Dutch company.
In 1990, Deepa took an entrepreneurial leap and founded her own company, creating and manufacturing lamps, interior accessories, planters, and murals for leading hotels, architects, and institutions. Over the years, her work has found its way into prestigious spaces and has been associated with clients including Taj Hotels, Radisson Hotels, the Prime Minister’s residence, Ishatwam, Kapoor Lamps, and 7th Galaxy, among others.
Alongside her professional career, Deepa began dedicating herself to social work in her fifties. Her commitment to supporting children and creating opportunities for young people has since become an important part of her life.
Deepa has been actively involved with Bhagta Bharat, an NGO close to her heart. She also continues to be deeply associated with Radico Welfare, through which scholarships are provided annually to two to three children to support their education at Balwant Rai School.
As an Advisory Board Member of Children’s Hope, Deepa brings to the organisation her rich experience as a creative professional and entrepreneur, together with her longstanding commitment to education, children, and social responsibility.
Jatin Tehri
Managing Partner at one of the fastest growing corporate advisory firms in India, InnerWave. A Chartered Accountant and certified valuation professional with over 15 years of experience, Mr. Tehri specializes in fundraising, mergers & acquisitions, due diligence, special situations, forensics and valuations. Prior to InnerWave, he worked with one of the Big four Consulting Firms, Deloitte and Alpha Corp.
Lara Shankar Chandra
Co – Founder, MIRASI – with her sister Tanya Berry since 2025! Mirasi is a handloom and craft led clothing brand in India.
2002 – 22: Development sector professional with a career spanning 2 decades in India. A lot of her work has centered around Strategy Planning, Advocacy, Coalition building, Partnerships and Networking. She has spent considerable time in Policy analysis and implementation, Program reviews, Knowledge management, Documentation, Program planning and Campaigning. Has worked across sectors including child protection, education, child rights, community and governance, gender programming, women’s rights to land and ownership, housing, water and sanitation and urban planning.
Lara has travelled across India and worked with a number of organizations including CRY, UNICEF (child rights/ gender/ community development), Habitat for Humanity India, Habitat for Humanity International (housing/ women’s rights to land for housing/ WASH/ urban planning), Butterflies, Prayas, Salaam Baalak Trust, Saathi, and Balprafulta (child protection/ child participation).
Published Author
Authored ‘Midway Station’ – Life Stories of Homeless Children’, a collection of real-life case stories, published by Penguin Books India in 2006.
Founder Member & Advisory Board Member – Citizens Association for Child Rights (CACR) (2013 onwards) CACR an NGO that works with municipal schools in Mumbai to improve the quality of education. CACR also works to improve WASH conditions in schools and in informal/slum communities. It is a UNICEF Maharashtra partner in disaster and pandemic response.
https://www.ngocacr.com/
Advisory Board Member – Kriti Team. (2019 onwards)
Kriti Team is a communications and praxis organization. Kriti Film Club is Kriti Team’s flagship progrom for over 25 years. Spreading awareness, showcasing moving cinema and dialoguing with captive audiences, it stays true its mission for social transformation. Kriti Team promotes women’s livelihoods through their initiative called Gestures. And runs a creche for the children of working women in Dehradun.
Advisory Council Member – Children’s Hope India. (2022 onwards)
CHI supports and funds NGOs working in the field of education.
Advisor – Kamal Nayan Welfare Trust. (2023 onwards)
KNT runs a remedial education center for school going children living in the slums of Okhla, Delhi. 75 to 100 children aged 5 to 16 years are supported with learning opportunities, skill development and personality development.
Member – Delhi Crafts Council.
Vinita Parakh Completed schooling from La Martiniere, Calcutta followed by 3 years in Loreto College. Did B Ed from Calcutta university after which she did an ad hoc job in La Martiniere for 5 months.
Vinita has always been interested in helping out the underprivileged and some of her experiences are as follows –
- Worked with special children in the spastic society of eastern India in Calcutta in the 80s for two years.
- Been supporting a visually challenged girl for almost 10 years from NAB ( national association for the blind) who now has a job in a school as a vocal music teacher.
- Recorded text in English in the blind relief association (BRA) and continue to do it in NAB for over a decade for students aspiring to do their UG exams.
- Currently volunteering in a library which we started some years ago for kids from lesser backgrounds to inculcate the habit of reading. In fact we encourage kids from all backgrounds to join to encourage a healthy amalgamation.