They are people proven integrity, social service and leadership qualities.
The following is a profile of the Trustees.
Integrity & Excellence
Pravin Kumar is the Founder and Managing Director of Lotus Group of Companies, which includes Lotus Foreign Exchange Ltd (NZ), Lotus Foreign Exchange Pty Ltd (Australia), Lotus Foreign Exchange Ltd (Fiji), and Lotus Gold Merchants Ltd (NZ).
Known for his business acumen and genuine love and desire to make a difference to the lives of the people around him and the community, Mr Kumar brings a high note of credibility as Managing Trustee.
The Trust finds in him, a person of unwavering commitment and zeal to achieve its goals. His commitment and passion are inimitable.
A Chartered Accountant by profession, Mr Kumar completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of the South Pacific. Following a ten-year tenure at the Westpac Bank in Fiji, he migrated to New Zealand in 1999.
He is a Senior Associate member of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia. He has been running his business for the last 14 years and has made an admirable progress, serving and helping the community in many ways.
Mr Kumar is a community worker and profoundly religious.
He was the President of the Waitakere Hindi School, contributing immensely to its growth and progress. He is also known for his services to the Waitakere Indian Association.
Married to Kashmin Kumar and they have two children and live in Te Atatu South in Auckland.
True Scholar
Dr Rajnish Sharma is a Senior Lecturer in Engineering at the University of Auckland. He has a doctorate and a first class honour graduate degree in Engineering from the same University.
An internationally recognised scholar, he has served as Secretary of Organising and Scientific Committees of two international conferences.
Currently, Dr Sharma is supervising several PhD students and sits on a number of committees at the University,
Besides being an academic, he has maintained his strong family tradition of community service as a Hindu priest and marriage celebrant.
Born and raised in Nausori, Fiji, Dr Sharma migrated to New Zealand 11 years ago. He hails from a family of reputed Hindu priests spanning several generations India and Fiji and hence the Trust is privileged to have him as a Trustee.
Dr Sharma is a founding member of the Auckland Satsang Ramayan Mandali, formed in the mid-1980s, while pursuing his undergraduate studies at the University of Auckland.
He returned to Fiji to work as a Senior Lecturer at the University of the South Pacific in Suva. He returned to Auckland in 2001, re-joined the Mandali and has been serving as a priest since 2007. He accepted the honour of being the ‘Kathakaar’ at the Auckland Satsang Ramayan Mandali Bhavan in New Lynn.
He is married with three children.
Challenges galore
Salendra Kumar is a New Zealand qualified Chartered Accountant and a member of the NZ Institute of Chartered Accountants.
He has been practicing in the public sector for the past 16 years, specialising in Accounting and Taxation. He was also employed at Coopers & Lybrand, Chartered Accountant in Fiji and is currently at UHY International, Auckland.
Apart from serving corporates, small, medium and large companies and individuals, Mr Kumar assists in preparing business plans, cash flow forecast, and developing Key Performance Indicators (KPI).
He is the Principal and Director of Party Planet (NZ) Limited, a business based in West Auckland specialising in party supplies, helium balloons and venue decorations.
Mr Kumar came to New Zealand as a high school student in 1988 and after completing his Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Auckland, he worked in Fiji for two years before returning to New Zealand.
A West Auckland resident for over 15 years, he has been involved with several community and sports groups. He is passionate about helping the community and looks forward with excitement and hope to the challenges of the building a Community Centre and Temple.
Mr Kumar is married with two daughters.
Seniority merits
Shiu Charan is the senior-most Trustee.
A retired schoolteacher former Member of the Fijian Parliament, he migrated to New Zealand in 2004.
He left an indelible mark in Fiji as a teacher and General Secretary and President of Fiji Teachers’ Union, championing the rights of teachers.
He was also the Vice- President of the Suva Intellectually Handicapped School, and served as the Vice-President of the Fiji Trades Union Congress, the national body of trade union representing workers in private and public sectors.
Mr Charan attended several international conferences, seminars and training sessions, including the Institute of Teacher Organisations Development in Fiji.
He was a member of the Public Service Appeals Board and Secretary of Fiji Bus Operators Association. He also served as Assistant Secretary of the Sanatan Dharam Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji for four years.
Mr Charan is a well-known and respected member of the Indian community in New Zealand.
He is very passionate and believes in helping the needy, underprivileged and the poor sectors of the community. He is currently President of the New Zealand Association of Fiji Teachers, a charitable organisation and is actively involved with several Ramayan Mandalis in various capacities.
He is married and has three children and six grandchildren.
Crowning Career
Giyannendra Prasad is a lawyer for the past 22 years in Fiji and New Zealand.
He was first trained as a secondary school teacher after graduating from the University of the South Pacific with a Bachelor of Arts and Graduate Certificate in Education.
Whilst teaching, he was the Labasa Branch President of the Fiji Teachers’ Union from 1984 to 1987.
He resigned from public service in 1987 to study for Bachelor of Laws degree at Victoria University in Wellington.
He returned to Fiji in 1992 and worked for the prominent Suva law firm, also serving as a Council Member of the Fiji Law Society.
Mr Prasad was elected to Parliament, where he was also Deputy Speaker in May 1999. However, in the aftermath of the 2000 political upheavals and due to personal circumstances, he ceased legal practice in Fiji in 2002 and re-located to New Zealand.
He has his own legal practice in Auckland.
Since his student days, he has been actively involved in community and public life as a student leader, teacher, trade unionist, lawyer and parliamentarian.
He is now Vice- President the New Zealand Association of Fiji Teachers, which is registered as a charitable entity with the Charities Commission to assist needy and poor schoolchildren in Fiji.
He believes that public life is the ‘Crown of a Career,’ and that such service should be a passion and ambition of people.
Mr Prasad is married and has a daughter.
