Fun, jubilation, networking, great food and good cause defined the Indian Diaspora Fundraising Event organised by Rotary Club Papatoetoe Central on Sunday (November 13, 2022), which 300 people attended.
The event at Mahatma Gandhi Centre in Eden Terrace saw many Members of Parliament, Community and business leaders, and Rotary’s Current and Past District Governors in attendance to celebrate the works of charity organisations and raise funds that will help the disadvantaged.
Dignitaries who graced the occasion included Immigration and Transport Minister Michael Wood, ACT Party leader David Seymour, Members of Parliament Melissa Lee, Andrew Bayly, Jenny Salesa, Dr Neru Leavasa, and Honorary Consul of India to NZ, Bhav Dhillon.
Rotary’s District Governor Allan and Sue Smith, Past DG Steve and Edith Chaney, Rotarian from Otahuhu club Tania Thomas Rotarians Harbourside Club, Harjeet Golian, Joyti Singh, Ashwani Sadhu were also present.
MP Melissa Lee said, "It was a great awards night. It was wonderful that I, along with Andrew Bayly, were able to help celebrate the amazing achievements across the community.”
Regarding the event, Manu Singh, President of Rotary Club Papatoetoe Central (established in 2015), said, "It was a great super successful fundraising event. It was great to have the presence of so many people from the Kiwi-Indian diaspora. It was overwhelming to see their enthusiasm to give back to the community.”
The event saw Community services Award recipients being bestowed on community leaders Anita Badwal and Karnail Singh as well as Ambedkar Sports & Cultural Club Pukekohe.
The recipients of Paul Harris fellowship awards that were honoured at the event included Ashima Singh, Kulbir Singh, P J Dhatt, Deepak Sharma and Manu Singh. The Paul Harris Fellow recognition was established in 1957 to show appreciation to encourage and recognise substantial contributions to The Rotary Foundation. The honour is named after Chicago attorney Paul Harris (1868-1947), who founded Rotary in 1905.
Chair of the club Raj Pardeep Singh acknowledged the presence of the Rotarians and the extended community in making the event a success.
It may be noted that a fund of approximately $30000 was generated through the event. "A part of this will be donated to Rotary Foundation and various other organisations and services projects over the year in NZ and overseas," says Singh.
For the uninitiated, Rotarians are known for making a difference in the world. Rotary is a way of working with other like-minded people who want to make their communities, their country and the world a better place. Rotary is a worldwide organisation which operates through clubs in 167 countries and has over 46,000 members clubs worldwide and over 1.2 Million active members to tackle some of the world's biggest challenges, locally and globally.