CINI, born of a dream by paediatrician and humanitarian Dr. Samir Chaudhuri to serve the severely malnourished children living on the urban fringes of Kolkata, is one of the top child-friendly NGOs in India working in 6 states across diverse thematic domains i.e. health, education, nutrition, child protection, and cross-cutting realms of adolescent empowerment. With a passionate soul to understand the root causes of child ill-health and immense dedication to prevent malnutrition, CINI started its journey from a small weekly clinic for children below five years. Registered under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act 1961, CINI envisioned to create a friendly and responsive community where children and adolescents achieve their full potential. CINI, recognised as one of the top NGOs in India, in due course developed a Child Friendly Communities approach (CFC) for translating children’s rights into practice. The CFC framework inbuilt in the ‘CINI Method’ delves into four core human rights-based principles of participation, duty-bearer accountability, intersectoral convergence and prevention. Beyond the regular programme interventions, CINI partners with state governments in achieving state-specific goals and also extends support in implementation of major state-specific schemes and programmes in health, nutrition and education domains.
As a recognition of formulating innovative approaches and models in addressing mother and child healthcare issues, CINI is two-times national award winner adding feathers to their hats of being the top NGO in India. CINI’s work has been valued, recognised and appreciated both nationally and internationally bringing in its basket the prestigious Allen Feinstein Hunger Award from Brown University USA, the Children’s Award by the Italian Parliament, WHO award for Excellence in Primary Health Care to name a few. With a rooted and grounded approach embracing the dynamic nature of development work, the vision that Dr. Chaudhuri casted half a century back helped the team of 1500 members to take the ownership of it and journey forward to accomplish the set goals. The dedication, passion and rights-based framework of CINI have had a spillover effect in building the base of huge support groups across Italy, Switzerland, UK, USA and Australia who promote CINI’s work, hence signifying the organisation as a top NGO in India.
