The Mangaluru unit of the Prison Ministry India celebrated its silver jubilee by providing scholarships to children of prisoners. As many as 25 students from Mangaluru, Bengaluru, Shivamogga, Ballari and Kalaburagi were given a cheque for 10,000 rupees each to support their studies. “A large number of people are suffering in prison due to lack of money or influence to get even a bail,” said Bishop Peter Paul Saldanha of Mangalore, who lauded the ministry’s volunteers for instilling hope among prisoners and their families. Elaborating the silver jubilee theme “You are not alone,” the bishop said the prison ministry has been a ray of hope for many prisoners. He also highlighted that the prison can be a place where people can hope for a new vision of life. The celebrations began with Mass presided by Bishop Saldanha and assisted by Bishop Francis Serrao of Shimoga and co-celebrated by Father Francis Kodiyan, the founder of the ministry and past directors. Tressie Menezes, coordinator of PMI Mangaluru, presented an audio-visual report on the movement’s journey in Mangaluru starting in September 1999. She said the PMI Mangaluru unit could rehabilitate several prisoners after their release. Sister Therese Mascarenhas, PMI coordinator for Karnataka, spoke about the challenges faced by the team as several prisons put restrictions on prison ministry.In his speech, Father Kodiyan compared the PMI Mangaluru unit volunteers to Irish Catholics, who excelled in all the fields they encountered. Terming the Mangalureans as intelligent and resourceful, he called upon the volunteers not to limit their potential to Mangaluru alone, but to reach out the PMI community all over the nation. Mangaluru prison superintendent B T Obaleshappa and donor Pascal Monteiro were felicitated on the occasion.