Diwali celebrations a day of colour and joy2 min read

Reading Time: 2 minutes

For the first time in two years, senior citizens came from every suburb in Auckland to celebrate Diwali at Shanti Niwas Charitable Trust in Onehunga. It was a day of colour and lights, laughter and joy, with dance performances, skits, awards and tributes. And – the most important part of the day for some – the delicious vegetarian food!

Diwali is the main and major religious festival of Hindus. It symbolises the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance. This festival is also known as the festival of lights and is made up of vibrant colours, eye-popping fireworks, twinkling lights and delicious sweets.

Since many had not met for at least two years, it was also a celebration of bonding, friendship and togetherness, with everybody marking another flourishing and joyous year that had gone by, and the beginning of a successful and promising year ahead.

The event started with the lighting of the lamp of power, knowledge, virtues and commitment.  The lamp was lit by a Shanti Niwas trustee, a public officer and Shanti Niwas staff, to symbolise the spread of happiness in the community.

During the celebrations, the Shanti Niwas volunteers were acknowledged for their work, and bouquets and thank you cards were handed out to the dance groups and musicians. They also thanked Onehunga Community Constable, Don Allan, for being a great supporter of the Shanti Niwas.

Side bar

The Shanti Niwas Charitable Trust is a non-profit organisation with a proud history of working with socially isolated senior citizens of Indian and South Asian origin living in the Auckland region. It aims to address many issues, including cultural shock, language and communication barriers, loneliness and social isolation, the lack of knowledge of health and welfare system, the lack of community links and elder abuse and neglect.

They provide several programmes:

• Positive ageing
• Social day programmes
• Khushi – Elder abuse and neglect prevention services
• SNEH – Shanti Niwas Emergency Housing Pilot Project
• Dosti – volunteer home vising service

To find out more, go to shantiniwas.org.nz