Kolkata, India - September 2023 - On Tuesday, 26 September, Salesian Prison Pastoral Care activities were launched at the Dum Dum House of Detention in Kolkata, in the presence of the Honourable Shri Akhil Giri, Minister of State, in charge of the Department of Prison Administration of the Government of West Bengal, and other authorities. The proposal to extend the Prison Pastoral Care throughout the South Asia Region, taking the activities of the India-Calcutta Province as a model, was put forward in 2021 by Fr Biju Michael, Regional Councillor for South Asia. The idea was taken up by Fr NT Scaria, Founder and Director of Provincial Prison Pastoral Care, who approached Superintendent Shri Suprakash Roy and obtained permission to start several vocational training programmes for inmates, in collaboration with Don Bosco Tech India and Snider Kolkata. To begin with, a total of 40 inmates, 30 boys and 10 girls, enrolled in the six-month courses in electricity and aesthetics. Fr George Mathew, Executive Director of Don Bosco Tech India, motivated the inmates to participate with dedication in these courses, to live a better life in the future. Finally, Fr Joseph Pauria, Superior of the Salesian Province of Calcutta, encouraged the initiative and called it "a typical Don Bosco work".