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16<br />
AUGUST 1, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Communitylink<br />
Papatoetoe Rotary plans more community projects<br />
Venkat Raman<br />
Rotary Club of Papatoetoe<br />
Central is planning to<br />
increase its community<br />
welfare projects to bring<br />
relief to the poorer and vulnerable<br />
sections of the society, Public<br />
Relations Director Raj Pardeep Singh<br />
has said.<br />
He said that as one of the<br />
youngest Rotary Clubs (established<br />
in November 2015) in the District,<br />
Papatoetoe Central is keen to pursue<br />
the objectives of Rotary International<br />
with vigour.<br />
Annual fundraiser<br />
“We are working on our Annual<br />
Fundraising Dinner which, apart<br />
from mobilising financial resources<br />
for worthy causes, will provide fun<br />
and entertainment to the entire<br />
family. Our Club is a real potpourri<br />
of cultures and people, with current<br />
members from different walks of<br />
life like doctors, teachers, financiers,<br />
businessmen, consultants, publishers<br />
and health professionals. I am<br />
looking forward to making it a place<br />
where people who want to make<br />
difference by providing volunteer<br />
services can meet and share their<br />
views and thoughts,” he said.<br />
Mr Singh said that his aim is to<br />
lead, motivate and inspire club<br />
members while ensuring that<br />
the Club’s focus and values are<br />
maintained.<br />
Raj Pardeep Singh (File Photo)<br />
Some members of the <strong>2020</strong>-2021 team<br />
“The Club is bridging the gap between<br />
the communities by offering<br />
volunteer services and getting involved<br />
in community projects. We<br />
welcome new members who have a<br />
passion for serving the community<br />
while making new friends along the<br />
Rotary Papatoetoe President Kulbir Singh with<br />
Immediate Past District Governor Gary Langford<br />
way,” he said.<br />
Members meet at 7 pm every<br />
Monday at Haveli Indian Restaurant<br />
located at 736 Great South<br />
Road, Manukau.<br />
About Rotary Papatoetoe<br />
Established in October 2015, the<br />
Rotary Papatoetoe comprises people from diverse communities<br />
Rotary Club of Papatoetoe Central<br />
works with local professionals to<br />
raise funding for good causes.<br />
Although a majority of its members<br />
are professionals from the Indian<br />
community in South Auckland,<br />
the Club is open to all ethnic groups<br />
and cultures. It is also represented<br />
by women with excellent leadership<br />
qualities.<br />
Mr Singh said that during the past<br />
five years, the Club completed many<br />
community projects and served the<br />
wider South Auckland community.<br />
Professionals and community<br />
workers<br />
“On July 18, <strong>2020</strong>, the Rotary Club<br />
of Papatoetoe Central had their<br />
changeover function at Mehman<br />
India Restaurant in Howick,<br />
Auckland. Kulbir Singh, the first turban-wearing<br />
Sikh became President<br />
of a Rotary Club in New Zealand. His<br />
team includes philanthropist professionals<br />
who are lawyers, teachers,<br />
financial advisors and businessmen,”<br />
Mr Singh said.<br />
He is among the professionals in<br />
the team. Among them are Manu<br />
Singh, Yashveen Singh, Sunil<br />
Aggarwal, PJ Dhatt, Deepak Sharma,<br />
Gurjinder Singh, Raj Chand, Akhilesh<br />
Chaudhary, Praveen Chand, Nek<br />
Mohammed, Gurjinder Ghuman,<br />
Karnail Singh, Daman Kaur, Nikita<br />
Chand, Naleen Chand, Jaspinder<br />
Kaur, Gurpreet Kaur, Aloka Peacock<br />
and Mustaq Sheikh.<br />
“Rotary values diversity and celebrates<br />
the contributions of people of<br />
all backgrounds, regardless of their<br />
age, ethnicity, race, colour, abilities,<br />
religion, socioeconomic status,<br />
culture, sex, sexual orientation, and<br />
gender identity. The Club belongs to<br />
New Zealand, District 9920,” he said.<br />
Death of young Akash Anthony throws community into grief<br />
Venkat Raman<br />
There are times when a<br />
journalist is too emotionally<br />
charged to report on an<br />
incident.<br />
There are times when the subject<br />
of a report is someone close to the<br />
journalist’s heart and that of his<br />
family.<br />
Akash Anthony was a son as<br />
much to my family as he was to<br />
that of the late Wenceslaus Anthony<br />
and his wife Susan and a darling<br />
brother to Sneha and her husband<br />
Mario Saverimuttu.<br />
Unbelievable and painful<br />
That Akash died on Saturday, July<br />
18, <strong>2020</strong> in Sydney while on a visit<br />
was too difficult to fathom.<br />
That the ever-smiling, well-mannered<br />
young man- he was only<br />
27- is gone, is excruciating.<br />
That this child of God went beyond<br />
the clouds to which he soared<br />
as a pilot is unbelievable.<br />
And that he died within the<br />
same week of his father’s third<br />
anniversary (Wenceslaus Anthony<br />
passed away in Chennai on July 23,<br />
<strong>2020</strong> following a sudden illness) is<br />
even more tragic.<br />
Relationships are sacred and<br />
when people are united in a bond,<br />
the pain is insufferable when<br />
one of them leaves- the reason is<br />
immaterial.<br />
Good habits, manners<br />
Akash, as I knew him, was a bubbling<br />
young man- he had simple<br />
habits and achievable objectives.<br />
He was a great son, even a greater<br />
brother and an ambitious pilot<br />
who wanted to be on air all the<br />
time- flying an aircraft and carrying<br />
people in it.<br />
We spent more than 20 hours<br />
Akash Anthony: Unbelievable, harsh reality<br />
A great Cricketer but the innings were<br />
very short: Akash Anthony with his Coach<br />
Nazeem Smith in 2010<br />
together travelling to Chennai to<br />
attend first anniversary prayer<br />
at his tomb and attend other<br />
meetings and services in Chennai<br />
in July 2018. Those hours gave me<br />
an insight to the mind and heart<br />
Akash with his mother Susan, Sister Sneha and father (the late) Wenceslaus Anthony<br />
of the fine young man that Akash<br />
had become.<br />
“I want to see my sister married<br />
and settled and look after my<br />
mother,” he had said, apart from<br />
detailing his attitude towards life<br />
and people.<br />
Little did I (for that matter even<br />
Akash) knew that the situation<br />
would change so much for the<br />
worse.<br />
Message from Sister<br />
His sister Sneha wrote the following<br />
upon his death:<br />
“I really don’t know how we are<br />
going to even put one foot in front of<br />
the other without you. Each minute<br />
feels like the biggest challenging<br />
nightmare. Still grieving the loss<br />
of dad and then this happens. One<br />
of the happiest most generous<br />
kind-hearted non-judgemental<br />
funniest people and the best little<br />
brother ever. I have no words and<br />
no idea what to do.<br />
“Let us all be kind to each other<br />
and know that hard times don’t<br />
last forever and we need to push<br />
through and look after our mental<br />
health. He was always the happiest<br />
and most cheerful person we were<br />
so close as a family who talked<br />
always, he called my mum multiple<br />
times a day and told her everything<br />
and no one ever thought his mind<br />
would take him so quickly down a<br />
dark spiral from which he could not<br />
return. Please pray for him and the<br />
family we just don’t know what to<br />
do.”<br />
About Akash Anthony<br />
Akash was just a boy of six<br />
when he migrated to New Zealand<br />
with his parents and sister and I<br />
remember him as an energetic boy<br />
interested in Cricket, music and of<br />
course flying.<br />
Indian Newslink carried a story<br />
in its September 15, 2010 issue, with<br />
the title, ‘Exciting future awaits<br />
young Cricketer.’<br />
He was described as a Cricketer<br />
with a promise and a growing list<br />
of admirers.<br />
Avondale College First XI Cricket<br />
Coach and former Provincial and<br />
International Representative Player<br />
Nazeem Smith said that Akash had<br />
unique qualities and attributes<br />
that could see him as a star and<br />
that he followed the style of Indian<br />
batsman Rahul Dravid.<br />
“I think that he has all the<br />
potential and makings of an<br />
international Cricketer if he keeps<br />
working hard at it. He is a dream<br />
player of any coach and always has<br />
more to offer than offers.”<br />
Like his father Wenceslaus,<br />
Akash inspired, motivated and<br />
brought out the best in others.<br />
He built an extremely good<br />
rapport and popularity amongst his<br />
peers, members of the family and<br />
everyone he knew.<br />
I am grateful to friends- more<br />
than 100 of them- who called,<br />
texted and emailed mourning the<br />
death of Akash. More than 600<br />
people prayed at a Mass held on<br />
Sunday July 26, <strong>2020</strong> at Catholic<br />
Church of Christ the King in Mt<br />
Roskill, Auckland.<br />
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