Some months ago I visited a hospice in Bombay. There were only twelve  inmates on that day and the attendant superior and her dedicated team of nuns were quietly and pleasantly going about ministering to the terminally ill people. Each of them was patiently waiting for the end to come – their physically tortured bodies were in the hands of medical science for pain relief but strangely, their minds seemed to be in total peace. This peace was entirely the result of the loving nuns and understanding of the attendants. It struck me then that a person in extreme pain – mentally or physically – needed counselling more than anybody else. This was the genesis of Vishwas. The one person I could think of to start a Counselling Centre was Wg. Cdr. P.R.N. Murty – a more dedicated soul than this I am yet to come across. The group of young people willing to donate their time was in a giving mood and a more giving lot I am yet to find. The training sessions were as much learning as fun from the first session on June 20, 1991. The culmination is today – the press conference prior to starting Vishwas formally on August 29,1991

Kishore Rao

Today is the opening day of ‘ Vishwas.’ There was a lot of visitors and activity. We were moving from room to room attending to the callers. I was nostalgic thinking of the ‘Sanjivani‘ enviornment from where I got my training and motivation to provide organised help and care to
the emotionally depressed people. I consider it my privilege to have been invited to associate myself with this new counselling society. The first batch of volunteers have been an extremely inspiring lot – so much in them and so much wanting to give – ever willing to learn and cope. I am happy to see Kishore Rao’s seed became a sapling.
My heart goes to the two senior citizens – I am proud to say my senior colleagues – Prabhakar Rao and Gurunandan Mulky who with their
silent strength and support have provided me tremedous inspiration in the training programme. We have to learn motivation, humility and
commitment from them.
I am looking forward to the growth and comfort Vishwas can provide to the society. Whenever we are in doubt about our interest, think of 28th and 29th August 1991 – birth of Vishwas and our commitments.

PRN Murthy

I had my first two callers on 5th September. It was like a new medical practitioner handling his first two patients. It was not as difficult as
I had thought it would be. The first caller actually put me at ease by talking in Kannada and making out as if we had known each other for
long!

The second one – an older type – was also very free and almost confused me with high sounding words in psychology and typed articles
in behavioural science. It will take some more sessions to learn the “tricks of the trade.”

One thing we learn is that there are very many persons who are in far worse circumstances than we are. I think I will be better equipped to
solve any problems at home or rather to see that there are no problems at home.

Gurunandan Mulky

It’s exactly one month since the opening of ‘ Vishwas.’ When I first ventured in to this charity, I had my own doubts about it
a) Whether people feel confident of ‘confiding’ to strangers
b) My capability in handling a caller

I could say, I am ‘AMAZED’. I could witness the reality of one’s problems, and I could also see that talking to someone makes a world of difference.

I feel very committed now to this venture, and want to spend more time at the centre helping people.

Apart from this, there is lot of self development. All of us as I can see have learnt to ‘listen’ with care and less judgemental / harsh in their
opinion about others. Isn’t that just great?

Asha

My awareness of others and their problems has increased by leaps and bounds ever since the commencement of Vishwas. I will never again
accept a person at face value and judge and compartmentalize him without further thought. In the month that I‘ve been at Vishwas, I’ve
learnt a lot about human nature and its been a real eye-opener.

This organization has helped a lot in my own personal life. I am far more understanding with people whom I deal with be it at school, home
or outside, and much slower in condemning them. I enjoy coming here once a week and look forward to it. In trying to help others solve their problems,
Life has taken on a new meaning, and my personal problems, if any, have become minimized.

Lalli

Fifteen year ago when I got admission in Delhi School of Economics and happened to land up at Delhi School of Social Work – I decided
then that I would only pursue a post graduate degree in this line. I feel ashamed to admit that it has taken me 13 years to put my discipline
into practice.
I really thank Vishwas and (Murthy and all my co -volunteers) for giving me this opportunity. August 28 was a great day in my life – it
was the beginning of what I’ve really been wanting to do. In this short span I’ve been amazed at what attentive, caring listening can do to
someone in distress.

I hope to grow with ‘ Vishwas’ and am prepared to give more of my time to it.

Thangam