We have several initiatives spanning a wide range of activities and services.
Get in touch with us if you'd like to pitch in.
01
Hindu morals & values in Schools
The core objective is to introduce the fundamental value of Hindu dharma to students in schools and try inculcating the moral, religious, and cultural values and demonstrate their relevance in the daily lives of the students. We are aspiring to offer Hindu moral classes to students all across New Zealand. We are working to develop the necessary curriculum and our experiential learning modules for primary school pupils are activity-based, while also including a degree of interactive listening to stories and other animated, child-friendly verbal and audio-visual presentations.
02
Immigrant Support
As immigrants, we are well aware of the challenges new immigrants face when they land on foreign shores. We are involved in helping migrants find their feet in the country and make their assimilation into the community as smooth and stress-free as possible. Our team of volunteers and professionals assists newcomers to find appropriate accommodation, guides them to acquire appropriate education/skills which assist them to get suitable employment. We also offer a one-to-one service that includes advice on the New Zealand job market and workplace culture and help migrants with CVs, cover letters, and interview preparation. This also includes regular workshops and a support network for new migrants to assimilate into a new environment confidently.
03
Satvik Food Certification
This global-level certification is fast becoming a one-stop certification for all vegetarians across the globe. Our organization is working to bring the “Satvik Certified” certification to New Zealand so that all vegetarians can be assured that the food they consume from commercial establishments is prepared as per Satvik credentials, norms, and the traditions of Hindu Dharma. Satvik means, that which is organic, vegetarian, which brings health for the body, mind and spirit.
04
Business Networking & Support
Our aim is to bring successful entrepreneurs and businessmen together with future young entrepreneurs of the community who can learn and be mentored by experienced people so that they too can enjoy the fruits of success without having to re-invent the wheel.
05
Culture & Tradition
Hinduism is a pluralistic religion and Hindus follow many ways of worship & traditions. Based on that Hindus celebrate many festivals & rituals. Hindu temples are the epicenters of these rituals & traditions. To name a few,
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Diwali - The Festival of Lights
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Holi - The Festival of Colors
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Ganesh Chaturthi - The veneration of the remover of obstacles
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Navratri - The nine nights celebrating the Mother Goddess
And many more which are celebrated with devotion and fervor.
06
Bala Samskara Kendra
Unlike in Bharath, our younger generations are missing out on our cultural atmosphere outside their homes in New Zealand. They are exposed to various other cultures be it at school or kindergarten, playground, shops and malls or friends at school or outside. Hence, they are brought up with a poor understanding of our culture & Dharma.
This is leading them to not take pride in our culture, Dharma, Hindu values, & identity. Therefore, it is required to expose them to a formal Hindu education & environment to inculcate these early in their lives.
To achieve this, COHONZ is intending to promote Early Childhood Education Centres close to every temple.
Parents can leave their children in these centres to learn about Hindu culture & traditions along with NZ ECE to imbibe Universal values early in their lives. This will be catered to by NZ ECE trained teachers, alongside the elderly from our community.
Children’s food is also taken care of in these centres if they desire to have Indian dishes.
07
Performance of Last rites by Hindu Community - Crematorium and Burial Laws
Like other religions, Hindus don’t have their own crematorium to perform the last rites of those departed in their families. There are also issues in dispersing the ashes after last rites in the right manner as prescribed in our scripts.
For many years, many of our organisations & prominent people from our community have tried to find a solution (for the symbolic dispersal of ash in a water body) as per the law of the land and taking sentiments of the indigenous cultures into consideration.
Still, this has not been rightly & completely addressed. Suitable changes in the by-laws need to be made based on the recommendations from Hindu scholars & priests so that Hindus can perform their rites in a culturally acceptable & legal manner. We also need to interact with Iwis to align with their sentiments with regard to ashes dispersal etc. COHONZ is working on this involving various organisations & individuals who are already working on this & with those who are familiar with this.
08
Senior Citizens
Coming Soon...
