Indians have been an integral part of the New Zealand ethnic mix for decades. It was way back in the late 1800s that Indians first settled in NZ, and most of these early migrants came from the regions of Punjab and Gujarat. The Gujarati community in the country has been growing ever since.
Many Gujaratis in Aotearoa are into business, be it trading, dairy ownership or property development. The Gujarati Samaj NZ (GSNZ), which was established more than a decade ago, has been working for the Gujarati community and making its presence felt across NZ.
Kiritkumar Keshavlal Thaker, GSNZ’s President, says, “Our organisation was established in May 2012 by a handful of visionary people having prudence and foresight to preserve the rich culture, heritage, and language of Gujarat in the community. It aims to provide a platform for people of Gujarati origin to showcase their creativity and talent. It is a social circle of Gujarati speaking people. Today, we are proud that GSNZ is an assemblage of vibrant Gujarati people and has a membership of about 500 people and is growing exponentially. We have four wings – Senior Citizen Wing, Youth and Children Wing, Women Empowerment Wing and Migrant Support Wing.”
GSNZ is governed by a democratically elected committee of executives every two years. This executive committee manages all the activities of GSNZ with the support of various sub-committees formed periodically with a group of dedicated volunteers.
GSNZ aims to provide a platform where everyone from the Gujarati community and broader communities gets an opportunity to take part in the cultural programmes to show their talent, share ideas and have their say to keep Gujarati culture, language, traditions and values alive today as well as for future generations of Gujaratis.
Thaker says the organisation is celebrating their 10th year of establishment on May 14, 2023, and in the next five years they are looking forward to grow as they are approaching more and more Gujarati families, especially youngsters, to join and take an active part in their activities.
Thaker says he hopes the organisation will realise its dreams with the support of its executive committee and all the members.