The first delivery of 1000 parcels will be tomorrow Tuesday (September 21)
Only for those Registered and approved from 4 pm to 6.30 pm
Venkat Raman
Auckland, September 20, 2021
The youth of Chinmaya Mission Auckland have done the communities proud by collecting $10,000 to provide free food parcels to needy individuals and families affected by the on-going Covid-19 Lockdown.
Although the New Zealand government provides funding for community organisations to provide free food parcels to communities (a facility reportedly utilised by most community groups, charities and other associations), the Chinmaya youth decided to dedicate their efforts to mobilising their own financial resources with the support of their elders, and more importantly with their own initiatives.
Pre-Registered and Organised
The first food uptake of 1000 food parcels will be tomorrow, Tuesday, September 21, 2021 between 4 pm and 6.30 pm from the Chinmaya Nikunj Wellbeing and Event Centre (which opened on July 31, 2021) located at 63, McKenzie Road in the South Auckland suburb of Mangere. The youth have organised drive-in facility to avoid traffic gridlock and a Registration process to ensure that all requested are booked in advance and no one is returned disappointed.
As we prepared this article encouraged by the poster sent to us, we learnt from the Chinmaya Mission Auckland website that Registration for the September 21, 2021 delivery is ‘full.’
We await further communication for subsequent free food parcel delivery.
The youngsters would have pleased Chinmaya Mission Founder Swami Chinmayananda who believed in harnessing their energy.
Optimising Energy
“Youth is a stage in human development when the personality is bursting with energy, enthusiasm and dynamism. This is also a phase in life when receptivity and retentivity are at the optimum. What they require is a clear vision of a goal in life and exercises for the cultivation of the right values of life to enable them to mould their personality and harness their inner resources along constructive channels. This systematic preparation alone can equip the youth to face the challenges of life with a smile,” he used to say.
The Chinmaya Mission in New Zealand and other countries participates in various activities throughout the year and the youth are called upon to serve. They are also provided opportunities to enhance their skills and even undertake leadership roles.
Though sometimes challenging it facilitates the all-around development of the individual. Through service and learning the mind is purified and life is transformed.
As Swami Chinmayananda said, “The youth are not useless and careless. They are used less and cared less.”
About Chinmaya Mission Auckland
The Chinmaya Nikunj Wellbeing and Event Centre is run by Swamini Amritananda with the support of a Board of Trustees, an Executive Committee and volunteers.
President Raj Siddhi said that the Chinmaya team has become an important part of the community and its members are well known for their contribution to the wellbeing of the community.
“There is a strong emphasis on programmes involving children and youth with the aim of giving them the right values of life and making them positive contributors to the community. The hall and rooms are open for hiring by the community for staging social and cultural events. People who hire the place will find it uniquely spiritual and appealing to their aesthetic sensibilities. The Centre is easily accessible as it is near the motorway and a bus route in Mangere and will cater to the community across Auckland,” he said.
About Chinmaya Nikunj
The new Centre has been designed as a Spiritual Garden (Nikunj) for experiencing wellbeing at all levels – mental, emotional, physical, social and spiritual.
Built at an estimated cost of $4.6 million, the Centre incorporates a Community Hall with a capacity to accommodate 240 people, four studio rooms (one large room for 50 people and three small rooms for 25 each), a Meeting and Reading Room, Bookshop and a commercial kitchen. While the kitchen is fitted with all modern essentials, the Centre will allow only vegetarian food and non-alcoholic drinks within the complex.
