SILVER JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS
The Bahrain Malayalee C.S.I. Parish celebrated its silver jubilee in 2003. The Parish co-opted a Jubilee Committee consisting of about 45 members to plan for the year long events to commemorate the celebrations. Mr. Varghese George was appointed as the General Convener of the Jubilee Committee. This was characterized by two land-mark events.

1. A cultural programme held at the Bishop Trinanzi auditorium at the Sacred Heart Church on 23rd January 2003. The programme was staged by our Youth Fellowship and included dances, songs, a skit and a magic-show. An official souvenir was released on this occasion and distributed to the audience.
2. A public meeting held at the Palace Inn Hotel on 16th May 2003 presided over by our Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Thomas Samuel. His Excellency, Bhaskar Kumar Mitra, the Indian Ambassador, was the chief guest. Other invitees included a representative of the Ministry of Labour and the vicars and managing committee of churches in Bahrain. Felicitation speeches were followed by various cultural items like dances and a skit. Members of the C.S.I. Parish who had completed 25 years with the Parish were honoured with a memento. The event concluded with a dinner served to all present.

The primary thrust behind the jubilee celebrations was to lend a helping hand to the needy and deprived in our society. A massive fund collection drive was launched amongst members and the proceeds of this, along with the income from souvenir advertising and a contribution from our Women’s Fellowship, were utilized for various charitable purposes in Bahrain and in India. Besides contributions to notable charitable institutions and towards the building funds of Churches in Kerala, Rs 50,000 was distributed to each of 10 selected persons from all the dioceses in Kerala, to enable them to build or complete houses. A special fund was also created to help needy people of CSI origin in Bahrain.