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My intention to join Vishwas was to see how to put into practice that I had learnt in theory through formal education. But what happened later is fulfilling and I did not anticipate at that time. This volunteering effort continues to heal my life.

After the experiential training at Vishwas, I joined as a volunteer in June, 2015. The counseling methodology followed by Vishwas was something I was naturally attracted during formal education studies too. I soon realized Vishwas has put in a matured working model with continuous learning through monthly volunteers meetings & weekly supervisions and is no less than a professional setup.

In summary, the whole experience is learning with humility, while being there as a mere catalyst.

Vishwas, for me has been a 19 years journey of trust, faith and belief; that has opened a new world for me. My joy knows no bounds when in few days to a few weeks, I see tangible changes in those who come to Vishwas looking for help to solve their life’s problems.
I have benefitted the most: I feel I have become a better friend, a better daughter, a better colleague, a better human being. Here is my expression of Gratitude to all my Gurus; my family, my colleagues, my friends and my managers for their support in this
journey.

Vishwas has helped me to become an effective communicator with an ability to listen. It has helped me to create support groups and network that I can rely on to help me effectively balance my priorities – family, career, friends. It has helped me to admit mistakes, learn from them, remain open to make midcourse corrections with humility and passion.

Twenty years is a long time in the life of any organisation. It is more so for a not for profit organisation like Vishwas which was a sort of trend setter to extend free and confidential services to help people in emotional stress. It is quite amazing to imagine now that Vishwas came into being purely by chance thanks to the initiative of Lata Jagannathan of Bangalore Medical Trust (more popularly known as TTK Blood Bank) and Kishore Rao of Karunashraya and the first training programme for lay volunteers conducted by PRN Murthy in June 1991. From 29 August 1991 till today the journey has been exciting, satisfying and rewarding.

I signed up as a Volunteer for Vishwas last year and it has been nothing less than an awakening for me personally. The training program helped me not only learn the process of counselling but also an important and often ignored facet of life – empathy and listening towards others. Vishwas made me more aware of myself and taught me that it is OK to feel vulnerable and seek help.

I look forward to coming to Vishwas every week. The organization is designed in such a way that as a volunteer, I am encouraged to keep improving myself so that I can offer better help to my callers. I have an experienced supervisor who is available to clear my doubts, wonderful fellow volunteers from various walks of life, many of who have been associated with Vishwas for more than a decade now, monthly meetings where we meet an expert on a topic related to mental wellness and finally, an ocean of books in our center to devour on related topics.

The organization runs like clockwork and is a shining example of how a non-profit organization can change the world. I can only but feel grateful that I am a part of Vishwas.

Being at Vishwas is as normal as breathing now. I’m just very proud to be part of the 21 years of Vishwas’s
commitment to voluntary counseling.
In the initial part of my decade long association with Vishwas, the commitment weighed on me.

However, the commitment of the veterans and the faces of my callers would give me the strength to step out of home and walk in with a smile.

To me, Vishwas is very personal. It allowed me to fulfill possibly my life’s
purpose and provided a happy place and group of people to be associated with.

I’ve been with Vishwas since the last 3 1/2 yrs and my journey has been wonderful & very satisfying. It started with my training, learning a new approach to counseling has impacted my thinking and so my personal life too. I also gained a big support system at Vishwas and speaking to and listening to their experiences and their outlook is an experience in itself.

As we listen to callers and help them clear the Clouds, Vishwas has done the same for me.

I see things more objectively. I’m less judgmental. I have learnt & am still learning to be happy with myself.

As the years went by, I started feeling “What am I doing”? After joining Vishwas, I found a purpose in my life. I am learning what life is all about by listening to people who walk into Vishwas. Thanks to Vishwas for helping me to grow.

The service we render to others is really the rent we pay for our home on this earth. Vishwas has shown me the way. I have great reverence for Vishwas and its founders for trusting me and providing an opportunity to be part of Vishwas.”

“Empathy is…communicating that incredibly healing message of ‘you are not alone’ ”

-Brene Brown

This, to me sums up what Vishwas is doing for people as an organisation.

With time to spare and thoughts of giving back to society, I took a friend’s suggestion to think about volunteering with Vishwas. It’s been a journey of many learnings.

Equipped by comprehensive training in counselling skills along with learning sessions and continued guidance from the committed senior “Vishwasians”, I am taking baby steps on this path of nobility.

While volunteering is about helping other people, it has in turn helped me in better self discovery, humbled me and has given me a sense of purpose.

Thanks to everyone at Vishwas for all the help, guidance and acceptance extended to me.

More strength to this tribe of helping people at Vishwas.

The day I came to know about Vishwas and their counseling process I was very keen to join the organization. Subsequently I went through an intense training program.

The day arrived when I had to do a one on one counseling session all by myself and that is when I realized how difficult it is to counsel others. Acceptance, and empathy are all easy to understand in theory but difficult to practice. In the process of counseling I am helping myself as well, as I had been told by Ramesh. My relationship with my family, relatives, friends and others have improved for the better due to Vishwas.