Shanti Niwas Charitable Trust on Friday, September 13, hosted its silver jubilee celebration of rendering its services to the seniors of the Asian and Kiwi Indian community at Sudima Airport Hotels, Auckland.
The event marked the attendance of more than 200 who’s who of the community including members of parliament, Leader of Opposition Simon Bridges, community leaders, executive members of Shanti Niwas, businesspeople, volunteers and supporters.
“The event was a great success- we have our supporters, volunteers and members of the community who shared our celebration of 25 years into this service,” Chairperson of Shanti Niwas, Ashok Gaur said.
On this occasion, Shanti Niwas also released two videos, a short film on elder abuse that focused on bringing back the smiles of the neglected senior members of the community and the 25 years journey of Shanti Niwas as a community organisation.
“Shanti Niwas 25 year journey was captured in the video and it included timeline of our services, and speeches from dignitaries like MPs and other prominent people in the community,” General Manager of Shanti Niwas, Nilima said.
Seniors of the Shanti Niwas Charitable Trust auditioned and acted in the short film and contributed their part to convey the message of elder abuse they suffer at the hands of their own family members.
“We had mixed emotions when we played the video at the event. People empathised with the seniors and what they suffer while some lauded the efforts of the seniors in the film for being brave enough to face the camera and tell their story,” Ms Venkat added.
A small felicitation ceremony was also conducted for the long-time supporters of Shanti Niwas at the event.
“We felicitated Mahesh Ranchhod for supporting Shanti Niwas Emergency Housing and Mrs Pushpa Cheta from Chevalier Wholesale Produce for the donation of fresh grown fruits and veggies to Shanti Niwas for the last 20 years and Chetan Patel for his ongoing support.
Shanti Niwas, through its various programmes, helps senior members of the community who participate in weekly events and activities to engage themselves and play their part in the community.
Some of the programmes are Shanti Niwas Emergency Home to accommodate neglected and abused seniors, ‘Dosti’ that provides services to isolated seniors and getting them engaged with other seniors and ‘Khushi’, addressing the abuse that elders suffer at the hands of families and provide them counselling and support.
Shanti Niwas in the last few years opened drop-in centres in different parts of Auckland that operates on a weekly and fortnightly basis hosting activities and events for the elders of the community located in different corners of the city.
Currently, Shanti Niwas has one permanent head office at Onehunga, a drop-in centre at Manurewa (South Auckland), North Shore, and the Balmoral Community Centre.
To celebrate this occasion with the seniors, a less formal event was organised by Shanti Niwas earlier in July where seniors enjoyed the 25-years celebration of the organisation with dance, food and music.
“I feel humbled, privileged, honoured to be able to work for the seniors and provide them with whatever service they need and celebrating this feat is a big occasion for all of us,” Ms Venkat said.
Shanti Niwas as part of their long term goal wants to reach out to more seniors, open new centres, and introduce new services for the elders of the community.
“We may also need to look into residential options be it Rest homes or retirement villages and communal living project.
“As we celebrate this year and reflect on the 25 years gone by, we also look forward to many more wonderful years ahead and Shanti Niwas will continue to dedicate itself to create and enhance services, build and strengthen relationships and create many more milestones,” Ms Venkat added.