The Need For a Hindu Temple and Community Centre in Manawatu

The Hindu community has been growing steadily in the Manawatu-Wanganui region over the past two decades.  Along with the Hindus who are born and brought up locally, especially the younger ones, there are migrants from India, Fiji, Nepal, Bhutan, Middle East, and many other countries across the world.  These Hindus have their religious and spiritual needs, and need a place to celebrate festivals like Diwali, Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi, etc.

The Manawatu Hindu Society (MHS) was established in 2019.  Over the coming years, the Society actively engaged in fundraising, organised religious festivals, increased its membership base.

In late 2023, the Society bought a small property with its own funds and a bank mortgage.  Over the following months, it worked tirelessly with a group of local builders and community members to renovate the property and transform it into a small temple and community centre.

The first Hindu temple in Palmerston North and the wider Manawatu-Wanganui region is a testament to the perseverance, resilience, and vision of the Manawatu Hindu Society for the local Hindu community.  The Society is actively seeking financial support to pay for its mortgage and build a strong financial base.  It is also looking for volunteers and new members to help with the day-to-day functioning of the temple and community centre and to grow the facilities.

Benefits of A Hindu Temple and Community Centre in Manawatu

MHS aims offers a wide range of services to the wider Hindu community, senior citizens, children and youth, refugees and new migrants, and social services. MHS ensures that the local community is benefited by catering to their social, cultural, spiritual, and emotional needs and by fostering healthy relationships among and between different age groups. This is achieved by regular prayers, meetings, and programs open for the entire Hindu community. Examples of some benefits are shown below.

 

Community:

  • Religious and spiritual needs
  • Mutual support and companionship
  • Social inclusion
  • Connected and confident community
  • Development of the spirit of volunteering
  • Cultural identity
  • Community health and wellbeing
 

Individuals (youth and children):

  • Connection with the cultural values
  • Playgroups to develop social skills, emotional confidence within environment that is like home
  • Fostering languages such as Hindi for young children
 

Through the temple and community centre, MHS is providing a learning environment for the young to prepare them for future by supporting them to take pride in their own religion and culture while learning alongside each other. This helps children develop self-esteem and gain confidence. The centre will be used to provide support for language development, dance, drama, and other ethnic traits and crafts.

 

Immigrants:

  • Reducing barriers to settlement
  • Networking
  • Building relationships
 

Older Age Groups:

  • Multiple activities, as required
 

Participating in different activities support the senior citizens to stay connected with their culture. This ensures active, healthy, and engaged lifestyle leading to the development of belonging to the city/region and wellbeing of themselves. This reduces issues of mental health, depression, and isolation and hopefully lessen the burden on the healthcare system. The learning of new skills also lessen the communication constraints and hopefully lead to less healthcare and social issues and restrictions.

 

Refugee Community

  • A platform to support large group of refugees (e.g., Nepalese and Bhutanese) being settled in the region
  • To meet their cultural, spiritual, social, and emotional needs
 

With the temple and community centre, MHS aims to assist the refugee community to develop skills that will help them settle and integrate into the community by reducing barriers. This includes helping them with the following:

  • Develop skills required to enter workforce
  • Understand New Zealand laws and regulations
  • Network and build relationships
  • Engage with each other for mutual support, and better learning
  • Develop awareness and socialize
  • Obtain culturally appropriate counselling
 

MHS is led by a committee of people who are working tirelessly to make the temple and community centre one of greatest assets in the region.

The Hindu temple and community centre is used for a wide range of activities

Primary uses

  • Place of worship for the Hindu community
  • A dedicated, purpose-built facility to hold functions and events (cultural and religious)
  • Communal area for community members to meet
  • Area for South Asian countries and religions to use for cultural and religious purposes (India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, etc.)
  • Area for all members of the community to utilize for the enrichment of the Hindu culture and religion (including youth and elderly)
 

Other uses 

  • Meditation and yoga classes
  • Teaching classes – health, nutrition, lifestyle
  • Community clinic – health checks
  • Literacy (adult) classes