Venkat Raman
ANZ honoured four persons of Indian origin as the country’s largest commercial bank celebrated Diwali with its customers, staff and prominent members of the community.
Dhansukh Lal, Beant Singh Jedor, Vanisa Dhiru and Manisha Morar were among those named for this year’s awards for their achievements in various fields.
Dance performances by Ratna Venkat and Abhishek Ravi were among the highlights of the event held at Sudima Airport Hotel on Friday, October 13, 2017.
Dhansukh Lal
Dhansukh Lal, General Manager of Magsons Mitre 10 Mega Henderson and Botany in Auckland, received the 2017 ANZ Diwali Entrepreneur Award, which recognises a successful Indian entrepreneur who has made a significant impact in the community through a small business.
“He is a valuable member of The Auckland Indian Association and has been actively serving the community for the last 25 years. He volunteers in many community associations and he was instrumental in setting up the Facebook page for Radha Krishna Mandir,” the citation said.
Beant Singh Jedor
Beant Singh Jedor was named for the 2017 ANZ Diwali Migrant Support Award, which recognises an Indian business person, whose community service goes beyond normal responsibilities, creating a lasting and beneficial impact for all residents.
As well as establishing the first Sikh Temple in New Zealand (in Hamilton) and another Gurdwara in Papatoetoe (South Auckland), Mr Jedor helped in the formation of the New Zealand Punjabi Cultural Association to promote Indian culture among children and younger members of the community. He is also a Mentor for business advice for new Immigrants and anyone new to business. He lives in Auckland.
Vanisa Dhiru
Recipient of 2017 ANZ Diwali Young Achiever Award, Vanisa Dhiru is known for her dynamic leadership, volunteering and championing the causes of several issues in New Zealand communities.
The New Zealand-born young woman leads the new ‘Gender Equal NZ Campaign,’ and was recently elected to the post of President at the National Council of Women. A Wellingtonian, her earlier assignments include Chief Executive, Volunteering New Zealand, Executive Director, 2020 Trust and General Manager, YWCA Aotearoa New Zealand.
Monisha Morar
Wellington based Monisha Morar won the 2017 ANZ Diwali Community Spirit Award, which recognised an Indian volunteer who is serving the community through a not-for- profit organisation and has gone an extra mile without any financial aid or expecting anything in return.
Ms Morar has been an Event Coordinator for Diwali Mela for the past 18 years, a Gujarati language teacher at a Sunday preschool, Creator and Publication Secretary for the social media platform at the Wellington Indian community.
She curated a photographic exhibition on the history of Wellington Indians, which ultimately won the Wellington Airport Community Awards Heritage and Environment category in 2015. She is credited with the creation of ‘Mauka,’ a photographic exhibition, currently touring New Zealand, chronicling the 125 years of Indians in New Zealand.
Earlier, ANZ General Manager (Auckland Region) Andrew Webster said that cultural diversity is very important for the Bank.
“Our people come from 230 different backgrounds. We have Indian staff from across the globe and 15% of staff in our Auckland Business Banking team are Indian. Last year, 11,300 Indians migrated to New Zealand and we helped over 5000 Indian customers into a banking relationship with us. We continue to help people moving to New Zealand with our Migrant Banking Package,” he said.
Mr Webster said that a select number of ATMs would be decorated with Diwali themes in 13 locations in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch.
“ANZ is running a campaign from October 1 to 27, 2017, wishing the Indian community Happy Diwali and offering an opportunity to get a limited-edition Diwali MyPhoto card. One can also enter a competition on ANZ Facebook page “Tell us how you will be celebrating Diwali, and you will be in the draw to win a Blackcaps-signed Cricket bat,” he said.
*
Photo Caption:
- Ratna Venkat and Abhishek Ravi presenting a South Indian classical dance
- Andrew Webster, New Zealand Indian Central Association President Bhikhu Bana with Community Award winners Manisha Morar, Beant Singh Jedor, Harshad Patel (who collected the Award on behalf of Vanisa Dhiru) and Dhansukh Lal
- A section of the guests at ANZ Diwali 2017
