Ms. Rani Patel

About

Rani Patel is the President and founder of Aarohan. In 2005, an incident with a 7-year-old rag picker named Rohan shook Rani’s conscience. She founded Aarohan – a not-for-profit to address the educational needs of underprivileged slum children from childhood to livelihood. Her strong belief is that investment in early childhood is the building block for a healthy nation.

Aarohan teaches life skills and extra-curricular skills to enable the children to integrate with society and take control of their lives. Rani was clear that the health of a community is a critical factor in the healthy development of children. She extended her vision to women – many of them mothers/siblings of Aarohan children to make them aware of their rights and to teach them skills which make them financially independent.

Rani Patel has done extensive work with the LGBTQ community in the area of AIDS awareness as well as skill development to mainstream them. Under her leadership, Aarohan has initiated their education and skilling Programs in tribal belts of Jharkhand, Odisha and AP/Telangana – communities which are under duress due to depleting forests and habitat which brings them into contact with mainstream society and leads to exploitation and forced Labour. Aarohan – an embodiment of her vision and life’s purpose has gone on to win many prestigious awards and recognition both in India as well as in other countries.

Rani is a member, of the sub-committee of the Standing Committee of Niti Aayog & CSOs and a Core Member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). She is also a Member of the Sexual Harassment Committee at the International Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT). She has won many accolades, awards and recognition for her work – notable amongst them are:

>Leadership in Education Award 2019 by Delhi Institute of Management in Association with Niti Aayog
> Healthcare Leadership Award 2019 by Zee Business
> 51 Most Impactful Social Innovators of 2019 Award by World CSR Federation
> Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Award 2018 for active participation in good governance by Ramraj Environment
> Best NGO Award 2017-18 by India Habitat Centre
> Nayi Soch Award 2013 by Star Plus for the innovative initiative of providing after-school academic support.