RAPHAEL was founded in 1959 in Dehradun (Uttarakhand) jointly by Group Captain Lord Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire of Woodhall, VC, OM, DSO***, DFC and his wife, Baroness Sue Ryder of Warsaw, CMG, OBE. Their mission was all-encompassing – the relief of suffering.

RAPHAEL is a duly registered charitable society governed by a Memorandum of Association and Rules and Regulations. It caters to the needs of the economically weaker sections of society in the State of Uttarakhand and the neighbouring districts of North Western Uttar Pradesh.

RAPHAEL provides all its facilities and services at a minimal cost to its beneficiaries and is entirely dependent on its benefactors for financial support.

Our Founders

Leonard Cheshire was one of the most distinguished pilots of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. In 1948, after his discharge from the RAF on medical grounds, he set up a hospice in his own home – nursing and caring for the sick and dying. Later, this grew into the Leonard Cheshire Disability charity which lent support to the disabled throughout the world. In 1991 during his last visit he handed over the care of Raphael to Major General Ranbir (Rummy) Bakhshi, MC. Leonard Cheshire died in 1992.

Sue Ryder served with the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II. She was closely associated with Polish service personnel operating behind enemy lines in German occupied Poland. After the War she was deeply involved in providing relief to the survivors of Nazi Concentration Camps and refugees in war torn Western Europe. She set up the Sue Ryder Foundation and The Lady Ryder Warsaw Memorial Trust to provide shelter to the homeless and disabled. Sue Ryder passed away in 2000.

Governing Council

A Governing Council constitutes the “governing body of the Society”. It is responsible for the “supervision of the work of the Society and the management of its affairs”. It comprises 12 elected members. It meets every quarter.

The elected members of the Council are citizens of Dehradun. They represent a cross section of professions – social work, academia, business, law, medicine, finance, civil services & the Armed Forces.

Governing Council members are not in receipt of any kind of remuneration for the services they render.NameGenderOccupationRole1Ms. Sunita GarwareFBusinessChairperson Governing Council 2Lt. Gen. VK Ahluwalia (Retd.)MIndian ArmyVice Chairman Governing Council3Ms. Indu RV SinghFSocial WorkerMember4Dr. JN KalhanMMedicalMember5Mr. JM SinghalMAdvocateMember6Mr. GIG MannMMLA & EducationistMember7Mr. Rahul JainMBusinessMember8Ms. Jyotsna BrarFEducationistMember9Brig. AAS Sinha (Retd.)MIndian ArmyMember10Dr. Arun KumarMMedicalMember11Ms. Mamta GovilFEducationistMember12Lt. Gen. JS Negi (Retd.)MIndian ArmyMember13Ms Chhabi MishraFSocial WorkerMember