Padma

The gift of time

In 2003 Padma was given the gift of time after her health had deteriorated and she took medical retirement six years earlier than planned. This enabled her to get involved in voluntary work and it was at this time that Padma began volunteering for Prison Fellowship.

She reveals: “I had read a book about prisons and it was then that I knew I wanted to be involved in this ministry. Prisoners are the people that society does not want, and by helping them I knew I would be serving the Lord.  At first I didn’t know how to go about this, but I came to know about Prison Fellowship through a friend and I attended a meeting with her. They were discussing setting up a new group for the local prison, Bullwood Hall, and I volunteered my home as a venue for the monthly meeting.”

Her home went onto become a regular venue where guest speakers, including ex-prisoners, would attend and numbers soon grew. Padma’s volunteer work with Prison Fellow soon escalated: “I started to go into the prison to help with services and to pray with the prisoners, and I also began to run Angel Tree which I have continued to do for the past five years”.

Padma continues to serve as a volunteer for Prison Fellowship where she fully believes in being ‘other orientated’ as opposed to being ‘self orientated’.