10-08-2025
When the heart finds its address again
CHENNAI: It was a fine morning in February 2024 when a quiet moment at the Government Institute of Mental Health (IMH) in Kilpauk was interrupted by the arrival of a photograph – of 44-year-old Johan (name changed) smiling beside his mother, thousands of miles away in Rwanda. For the IMH team, this was more than just an image. It was a picture of hope and the culmination of a long journey – the kind that unfolds behind the scenes at one of Asia's oldest and largest mental health hospitals, established in 1795, where the mandate extends far beyond treatment and into the realm of family and belonging.
Johan's arrival in Chennai from Rwanda was anything but ordinary. Once a student at Annamalai University, the Rwandan's life took a dramatic turn in 2014 when he dropped out of college and found himself stranded after his roommates moved out. Adding to his challenges was a missing passport, an expired visa, and, what followed for Johan, a descent into anonymity – years spent wandering the streets, off the grid, until the police found him and placed him at Anbu Jothi Ashram. After its closure, he was sent to IMH – an institute that strives to reunite lost individuals with their families.
Johan's case put the IMH team's skills and patience to the test. He was, quite literally, stuck in the country as he had lost his travel documents. K Mohan, a psychiatric social worker at IMH, recalls the turbulent times vividly. 'The process began with notifying the Rwandan embassy. Later, we contacted the Foreigners Registration Regional Officer (FRRO) in Nungambakkam to secure an exit permit. They charged us a heavy penalty of Rs 80,000 for overstaying, which was waived after an intervention from the IMH director,' he says.
