Mittal Patel

Social Entrepreneur Founder – Vicharta Samuday Samarthan Manch

Mittal Patel was raised in a village of Gujarat. While she dreamt of becoming an IAS officer during her graduation, she soon realized that her happiness lied in working for the tribal community. Mittal joined an organization named ‘Janpath’ and here Mittal’s own NGO Vicharta Samuday Samarthan Manch was born. When she had first started working and researching these nomadic communities, she had not planned to form an organization but their plight so moved her that VSSM was created and registered under Society and Trusts Act. Mittal has taken on the challenging task to go to these far-flung nomadic communities, establish relations with the inhabitants, and carry intensive efforts for providing socially acceptable livelihood alternates and the path-breaking task of sending the children of these communities to school.

Mittal Patel is currently studying applications for loans, housing, and other amenities. She is working round the clock in providing these backward communities with the voter ID card on priority. Now around 90% of the NT-DNT is included in the census. She has alsol worked with the communities who lived on the fringes of the village who were deprived of water and had poorly paid wage. Her fight began with her writing about their rights, sitting on dharnas on footpaths with members of like-minded NGOs and meeting authorities. She has also worked for the improvement of the Dafer community in Rethal village.