Sanjiv Mittal won a 2011 TI Founders Community Service Award for his efforts that positively affect the community.

A chance meeting in 2003 with one of the governing council members of Vishwas, a center for the psycho-social rehabilitation of mentally ill people, initiated Sanjiv Mittal into community service.

That same year, Mittal began a job as the center's administrative officer. In this role, he managed various functions, including coordination with doctors and patients, finance, Human Resources and transportation.

In Hindi, Vishwas means "belief."

"I was impressed with the governing council for their steadfast belief that the lives of these people could be improved and with the effort they were making in this endeavor," said Mittal, who has been supporting the TI India Corporate Affairs director in Delhi since 2007.

"Many people visit the center with the intention to help, but after seeing the depressed state of the patients, they don't come back. I realized that I had the temperament to support and help them."

The United Kingdom-based Richmond Fellowship Society started Vishwas in 1999 in India. The fellowship operates centers for the mentally ill in more than 20 (mainly Commonwealth) countries around the world.

Working for satisfaction
In 2008, Mittal played a major role in helping set up Vishwas in its own premises at Greater Noida, about 18 miles southeast of New Delhi in the National Capital Region. The center has 20 full-time patients.

In addition, there is capacity to accommodate 20 more patients in day care. Vishwas has appointed psychologists and social workers to treat the patients and to conduct outreach programs in different areas of the national capital.

"My whole-time job at Vishwas helped me to intimately understand the needs of the patients. I began to empathize well with them," Mittal said. "Most of them are intelligent and educated people but have succumbed to mental illness due to circumstances beyond their control. What they need is compassion and the confidence to rebuild their lives."

Mittal visits Vishwas at least twice a month and helps the center in raising funds, distributing literature, creating public awareness, and organizing mental health camps. He also takes patients out for recreation, listens to their problems and renders advice.

He meets their families and advises them on steps that need to be taken to keep the patients comfortable and occupied.

"Schizophrenia is a severe form of mental illness affecting people in their most productive age (15 to 35 years) and they develop withdrawal symptoms," Mittal said. "They get subjected to frequent bouts of hallucinations and delusion. I derive immense fulfillment by making efforts to rejuvenate them and help them to come out of depression. Whenever I have some free time, I know exactly where to go and what to do."

The institution of these awards in India clearly shows that TI cares, Mittal said.

"I would like to thank the TI India leadership for this laudable gesture," he said. "For me, it's a great motivation and recognition of my contribution to Vishwas. This award will also motivate more TI employees to work for the communities around us."