Teachers and elders are among the most important sections of the society and hence should be accorded better understanding and care.
That was the crux of a speech and presentation by Indian Newslink Editor at a meeting organised by the Waikato Chapter of the Global Organisation of the People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) and the Indianz Global Women & Family Group, Hamilton at the Celebrating Age Centre on September 5.
He said seniors in the community deserved to be tended with respect and care and called for coordinated action by the Central and Local Governments, NGOs, community welfare organisations, social groups and individuals.
“New Zealand has an aging population with more than 1.4 million in the 46-64 year group and more than 570,000 men and women above 65 years of age. Life expectancy among males is 78.4 years, compared to 82.4 years among women.
“By 2040, more than 50% of us will be over 45 years, while those of 65 years and above would be 43% of the total population. New Zealand would have more than 293,000 octogenarians,” he said, quoting Statistics New Zealand.
He said that an increasing number of parents, elder members of the family and senior citizens suffered at the hands of their children, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law.
“They are brought into this country to be domestic servants and guardians of small children and years later are declared redundant. There is no recourse to justice for them. Some of us speak of moral values but lead a life of sin. We speak of Indian culture but do not live by it,” he said.
Deputy Mayor Pippa Mahood told Indian Newslink later that there was much to be done to protect the rights of elders.
The Editor said teachers belonged to a noble profession and that their contributions towards stronger and better informed communities should be rewarded.
The meeting was held under the theme, Seniors in Families and Faith; Teachers contributing to Stronger Communities to pay homage to elders and teachers.
The organisers honoured Neeraj Duggal, Chandrakand Patel for their contributions to the teaching profession.
The meeting also honoured 19 youngsters for their achievements. The following is the list of achievers:
Anurag Verma: Academics and Sports (Cricket); Aditya Vasudevan: Speech, English Language; Amelia Joshy: Speech, Drama Music, Dance and Sports; Anusha Kumar: Academics; Ashwin Kumar: Mathematics, Sports and Music; Avanti Singhal: Academics and Co-Curricular Activities; Avishak Kumar: Academics; Ayesha Ghani: Academics; Michael Chopra: Academics; Michael Chopra: Guitar; Prajakta Modak: Dance; Ratna Venkat: Indian Classical Dances; Rishi Khattar: Academics and Sports; Rishi Kumar: Sports and Kung Fu; Shobhit Kumar: Sports and Kung Fu; Simran Preet Kaur: Academics and Sports; Thiruna Selvaratnam: Carnatic Music National Quartet; Venkatesh Krishnan: Sports and Chess.
Photo : Some of the young achievers
