Rita is a young mother who lives in Phule Nagar community. She visited FMCH during her second trimester of pregnancy, after being identified by the FMCH Field Officers during their field visits. She moved to her village for her delivery but returned to Mumbai with her newborn. The FMCH team spent a lot of time […]
In Mumbai, waking up to the sweltering Mumbai heat and sound of pigeons chirping and religious bells in a local temple was a familiar morning for many. As a brief visitor, for just 9 months, I quickly became accustomed to taking the local trains to and from Mahalaxmi, where I was working closely with the
Volunteer Speaks – Priyanka Athavale Read More »
Our volunteer and (former) Management Committee member Ms Rinske Bloemendal shared her experience with FMCH.
Volunteer Speaks – Rinske Blomendal Read More »
My name is Deepika Lakshmi Ganesan. I hold a Masters Degree in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics from SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai. I came to know about FMCH when I was on a hunt for exploring my likings to work towards ‘Community Nutrition’. FMCH seemed like the perfect place to send in my details for a
Intern Speaks – Deepika Lakshmi Ganesan Read More »
As a pandemic situation life became more monotonous and got stuck at a single point. One fine day my friend Ankita found a virtual internship at FMCH India, and I immediately applied as I was interested to learn about community nutrition and how the organization works at the grassroot level. During my tenure of Internship,
Intern Speaks – Ankita Read More »
I am Ankita Boral, and have completed my Post Graduation in Dietetics and Nutrition from NSHM College of Management and Technology, Kolkata. I did 2.5 months of internship at FMCH during the lockdown. I was also given the opportunity to write the experiences of the field officers who have been working in FMCH for years.
Intern Speaks – Ankita Boral Read More »
The Foundation for Mother and Child Health (FMCH) is a grassroots organisation working in the slums of Mumbai. Resources were targeted to pregnant mothers, infants and young children (aged up to three years) through a ‘1,000 days initiative’. Programming involved active growth monitoring from birth with early and intensive interventions using contextualised nutrition and breastfeeding
Supporting healthy growth in infants in low-resource settings in Mumbai, India Read More »
FMCH conducted a needs assessment in our communities in Jarimari, Kurla and Bhiwandi to understand the needs of the community and to cater to their needs so that we are able to hear from them their needs. Need assessment was done in these communities with the primary goal of identifying the persistent need of the
Need Assessment in Community during Covid-19 Epidemic Read More »
Lockdown has forced us all to adapt to using technology more. People have slowly adapted to virtual volunteering and internships as well. Here is an experience from one of our externs from Denmark. When I found out about the structure of my bachelor in Global Nutrition & Health: that we were required to take two
Lea Khandalavala: Internship Experience Read More »
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Laxmi, an engineer turned educator is a Tech Consultant at FMCH. She’s a Teach For India Fellow, with over a decade of experience in education. She was an Associate Director at 321 Education Foundation; handling the Program Design and Training Function to improve foundational literacy for children.
An alumnus of IIT (Mumbai) and IIM (Calcutta). With over 22 years of work experience at corporates such as JSW, Edelweiss & ICICI – he’s equipped with corporate & investment banking, business planning & evaluation, financial analysis/budgeting and project finance skills. In July 2018, he transitioned to the social sector as an Advisor and Philanthropist to Non Profits. He’s a founding member of IITians for Influencing India’s Transformation.
With over 20 years of work experience, Mohit is a Managing Director, and Head of Legal & Compliance for India at Barclays. He’s responsible for the general oversight of legal and compliance services to all the Indian businesses and Barclays entities, and for general legal and compliance risk management in India. Previously, he was with Citibank for 9 years as Citi’s Country General Counsel for South Asia, covering India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal for all of Citi’s commercial businesses.
Lakhan Jain has a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, FCA and he is a practicing Chartered Accountant. He has been associated with FMCH since 2008. In 2013, he joined the Board of Trustees. Being a Treasurer and Trustee, he looks after the financials and taxation part of the organisation.
Khushnuma Ferzandi has been an active member of the American School of Bombay (ASB) for the past 23 years. Her current role at ASB is Head of Internal Partnerships and Events. Her primary role as part of the school’s Advancement Team is to expand and align ASB’s social and community initiatives with the intent to boost morale and build a stronger and deeper sense of community with all of ASB’s stakeholders.
Geetanjali has been associated with the non-profit sector through her various roles at Concern India, Childline and Armman. At present, she is the Co-Founder and Senior Director of Centre for Social & Behaviour Change Communication. She joined the FMCH Board to guide the team with her expertise in maternal and child health and behaviour change.
Board Member
FMCH India
Advanced Endoscopic Gynaecologist & Obstetrician – Consultant at Hinduja Healthcare Hospital Khar, Mumbai & Partner – Tulip Women’s Healthcare Centre, Khar (W), Mumbai. He is the Pioneer of Waterbirth in India and has expertise in the field of Minimally Invasive Surgery and Advanced Laparoscopy for Women. He has a special interest in Maternal and Child health Programmes and Pregnancy Nutrition.
Dorothy Wagle has had a long career in product development and manufacturing in both the USA and India. During early retirement, Dottie was able to fulfil her life-long ambition to work with an NGO. Starting with Salaam Baalak for street children in Mumbai, she then moved to FMCH and served as Chairperson of the Managing Committee for over 6 years. She’s currently the Executive Board Chairperson.
Durgesh has recently completed Gandhi Fellowship program in Piramal Foundation. For 2 years, he worked in the Education and Health system of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan around Leadership Development and policy advocacy. He is also a Taekwondo player passionate about travelling, and music.
Associate
Project Poshan And Wadia Intervention
Asma is a high school graduate who is currently pursuing further studies. She discovered FMCH during an orientation session at Dhobi Ghat and wanted to join the team in 2017. She finally got an opportunity to work for Project Poshan at Kurla-Jarimari a year later.
Board Member
FMCH India
Sheila Malaney has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Delhi. She is the retired Chairperson of Vulcan Engineering. Sheila serves on various Boards in both the Profit and Non-Profit sectors. Sheila is the longest serving Board Member of FMCH.
Komal, with her Masters in Social Work has also completed a short-term course from NN College in Laws and social work. She brings work experience in Children and Institutions and a nuanced understanding about rural and urban setup work.
Sarah, with her Masters in Food Science and Nutrition from SNDT Women’s University, Juhu, Mumbai is an intern turned employee. She is keen on exploring and learning about various roles in health and nutrition in the development sector.
Manager
Finance
Amar is a B.Com graduate who has also completed Government Diploma in Cooperation and Accountancy (GDCA). Currently pursuing Inter CA & Final CS, he brings 6 years of experience working with CA firms in Accounting & Audits. He has also worked as a college teacher in accounts & taxation.
Manager
Community Nutrition Initiative II
Preethi, with a Masters in Social Work from Mangalore University, brings over 13 years of working experience in the development sector managing Adolescents Education, Sexual and Reproductive health, Maternal and Child health care programmes.
Manager
Community Nutrition Initiative
Sharad, with a Masters Degree in social work, brings over 13 years of experience in child rights, education, health and nutrition. At FMCH, he focuses on supervising programme implementation, reporting, organising training and large scale community events.
Manager
Project Poshan And Wadia Hospital
Shubhangi, with a background in social work, brings 8 years of experience in addressing maternal and newborn health. At FMCH, she specifically focuses on the issue of malnutrition and working with SAM and MAM children.
Jesmina, with her Masters in Social Work from Dibrugarh University, Assam is passionate about working in the social sector. She previously worked as Senior Associate-Recruitment & Operations in Mentor Me India, handling 360-degree recruitment and operations. She also worked as a Program Manager with Apne Aap Women’s Collective, on a project for adolescent girls.
Major Poonam, an alumnus of AFMC, Pune is a graduate in Nursing, a double post graduate in Applied Psychology, and MSW (Livelihoods and Social Entrepreneurship) from TISS, Mumbai. The founder of LetshareIndia Foundation, an AI-based Donation platform is a retired Indian Army officer, with more than 10 years of work experience. She has worked with many NGOs and research organizations as a Project Lead.
Board Member
FMCH India
With over 35 years experience as a Practising Company Secretary, Ratan handled Company Law and Secretarial matters of public listed Companies, Pvt Companies Section 8 Companies, Public and Private Trusts. He represented Companies for Company Law, FEMA, SEBI, Stock Exchanges collaborations, liquidation and closure of Companies, Amalgamations etc. Also provided advisory services to the Board of a public Limited Company in Strategy, Public Relations. HRD etc.
Sunita Agarwal lived in Bangkok for 28 years and moved to India in 2016. With a Bachelor’s degree in clinical nutrition, she persevered her passion for nurturing young talent by teaching in different international schools in Bangkok and Mumbai. Her over 20 years of experience has firmly reinforced her belief that education is about developing responsible citizens who will be successful by being effective, passionate, creative and critical learners.
Smita a public health professional who holds Masters degree in Social work, my main objective is to identify the major public health problems and contribute to community improvement My primary area of interest as a public health professional s reproductive, maternal health, neonatal, and child ealth Along with public health as a major interest of work,nutrition-related issues in somely and bring a positive change in people’s lives.
Raghu has close to two decades of experience, 15 of which have been in the development sector. Prior to joining FMCH, Raghu led technology and Monitoring and Evaluation (M & E) teams in Apnalaya and Magic Bus. His experience has been in leadership, organisational strategy and impact measurement. Raghu is deeply committed to social justice and democratic principles. Raghu was selected as an Acumen Fellow in 2021.
Chandrika has been a development sector professional for the past 20 years. With a masters degree in Clinical Psychology and has grassroots-level experience in working with children and women, programme design, implementation and evaluation with a special focus on life skills, education and advocacy. In the past, Chandrika has worked with organisations such as Sahayog Foundation, Apnalaya and Magic Bus in various leadership roles. She also has experience in content creation and curriculum development for training, life skills and e-learning. A writer, passionate about collaboration and creating collective impact, Chandrika is an aspiring improv artist and has a channel on YouTube.
Board Member
FMCH
Board Member
FMCH
Narendra, has been working in the development health sector with an experience of over 22 years in various healthcare programs. He has proven expertise in operational management, strategic initiatives to startup any program, advocacy and networking. Narendra has worked with different organizations earlier such as Population Services International, DKT India, SNEHA & Americares India Foundation
Program Associate
Community Nutrition Initiative II
With a Bachelors in Commerce, Iram Ansari was a Field Officer with FMCH for seven years before joining us as Program Associate for Community Nutrition Initiative-II, Bhiwandi. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Social Work from IGNOU and is working towards creating a positive impact on society.
Program Associate
Community Nutrition Initiative I
With a Bachelors in Commerce, Shahajahan Ansari was a Field Officer with FMCH for 5 years before joining us as Program Associate for Community Nutrition Initiative-I, Bhiwandi. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Social Work from IGNOU and is working towards making India malnutrition free.
With a bachelor’s degree in Food Science and Nutrition and a masters degree in Public Health Nutrition, Purva Bahadkar is the founder of a successfully running small business called GrabHealthy, which provides a variety of healthy snacks that track the calories you consume. In the past, Purva has worked as a community nutritionist in Udaan Welfare Foundation, Thane – she planned and handled their ‘Project Annapurna’, which provided support to the community to fight against malnutrition. Purva calls herself a captivating communicator and her goal is to inspire each and every individual of India to eat and live well.
Animish is a graduate in Food Processing Technology from Pune University and post-graduate from Symbiosis International University in Nutrition and Dietetics with a specialization in Public Health Nutrition. Born and brought up in Pune, he is a devoted public health nutritionist with a mission to contribute in tackling nutrition-related issues in society and bring a positive change in people’s lives.
Shruthi, an engineer from VTU has been an independent consultant in the development space – focusing on strategy, fundraising and business development. Prior to FMCH, she was the Executive Director at Mentor Me India, a Mumbai-based NGO. She has 10 years of experience working with organizations such as Infosys, Hippocampus, Teach for Bangladesh, Masoom and Sukhibhava. She is a Teach for India and Acumen Fellow.
