Source: www.indianweekender.co.nz
NEW ZEALAND, September 5, 2010: Hindu Niwas, a new initiative at the Hindu Heritage Centre, is “a home away from home” that provides accommodation to seniors, at-risk women and children, socio-economically deprived families, and respite for caregivers, international students and visitors to Auckland, all with a Hindu twist. It is equipped with 63 beds, with common kitchen facilities.
Swami Vigyananand inaugurated this facility in a traditional Hindu way in May. In July, Maori elder Matua Pomare and staff members from Te Wananga o Aotearoa (The University of New Zealand) blessed the facility and the land.
Hindu Niwas works collaboratively with a wide range of Indian and other ethnic organisations to serve communities from a number of countries. It works with government service providers in social services and health sectors. Hindu Niwas was designed to provide respite services to make life easier for people in support roles, like caregivers. “We aim to provide culturally appropriate and quality services so that the residents develop good social networks,” said Sneh Prasad, volunteer of Hindu Council of New Zealand who helped set up this project.