By Verghese V Joseph –
Bengaluru: Prison Ministry India (PMI) on Monday launched an online initiative to train full-time volunteers on its ‘Reform to Reintegrate’ programme.
Held over Google Meet, the participants will be trained online over the next two weeks on topics ranging from the background and overview of Prison Ministry India (PMI) to visiting prisons and developing skills for interacting with prisoners and their families.
Since inception, PMI has grown and is now currently serving 1,412 prisons and 4.5 lakh prisoners across India. PMI, a national voluntary organization under the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), has a history of liberating, rehabilitating and redeeming tens and thousands of prisoners and their families through its 20 rehabilitation centers and 8,000 volunteers all over India.
On Monday, nearly sixty volunteers from across different dioceses of India logged in to participate in the programme.
In an opening prayer, Sr. Lini Sheeja MSC invoked the Trinitarian God and sought the Lord to bestow His blessings on all PMI volunteers and the brethren behind the bars.
“This is a new and extremely convenient way of connecting and learning about the ministry,” remarked Patricia Reddy excitedly, a PMI volunteer participant from Pune.
Fr Francis Kodiyan MCBS, PMI Co-founder and National Coordinator welcomed the participants with his enthusiastic words of encouragement. He was happy to enlighten us that He briefed the participants on the new developments of the Ministry, new office bearers and appointments. “The goal of full-timers’ course is to train and equip the new staff and volunteers of PMI so as to transform them experts in doing prison ministry fruitfully and meaningfully” said Fr Francis.
Most Rev Bishop Allwyn D’Silva, Chairman of PMI then addressed the participants. He exhorted the participants to put on the armor of scripture found in Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me…he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners”.
Urging the participants, Bishop Allwyn said, “We need to show the prisoners a window of hope. Reintegration is key. There are many layers of reintegration. Apart from prisoners themselves, we need to work with their families so that they are more accepting of them upon release. Families too face rejection by Society, so work is required in Society for changes in attitudes. Finally, we need to give special attention to parents and spouses of prisoners” he advised.
Next, Fr Varghese Karippery, Co-Founder of PMI, exhorted volunteers to be like Jesus whose last act was to convert a criminal. “Just like the Lord proclaimed through Ezekiel in the Valley of Dry Bones (Ez 37:1-14), here too, He will breathe new life to the prisoners through PMI volunteers. Thus, we must forge ahead and “be MAD – we need to Make A Difference,” he said.
After a self-introduction of all the participants, Sr Lini briefed the course dynamics and the various sessions to be held over the next few days. This was followed by the release of this month’s issue of Prison Voice by Bishop Allwyn. All the participants were encouraged to read the issue which showcases the efforts and experiences of the “Warriors of PMI”.
concluded the inaugural session with words of encouragement for all the participants, “Success of our life depends on the quality of our thoughts. But the quality of our thoughts depends on the people we meet and interact with in our life…Today is the beginning of that interaction for us PMI volunteers,” he said.
Fr Wilfred spoke highly of the leadership team at PMI – Founders, the national coordinator, the national secretary, the regional and unit Coordinators whose love and commitment are what keep the Ministry strong and vibrant. As we begin our new journey, “Some journeys need no roads, just a willing heart and that’s what PMI is all about,” he added.