The Waitakere Indian Association supports the wider west Auckland community through education, community programmes and cultural celebrations. Throughout its 25-year history, the association has remained dedicated to its purpose of uniting the community and celebrating culture.

Its President, Sunil Kaushal, has been involved for many years. He shared how theassociation works to support everyone in the community, regardless of their ethnicity, culture or religion.   It doesn’t matter if you’re Sikh, Buddhist, speak Hindi, Gujarati or Tongan – the association works for all.

One of its early initiatives was to establish a community Diwali celebration in Tāmaki Makaurau - Auckland. When it first hosted the event in 2000, about 180 people turned up – more than the association had expected  . Now, about 20,000 to 25,000 people attend the event at Trusts Arena each year. It’s a chance for the Indian community to celebrate an important festival and share their culture with the wider community.

The association also organises an annual event in celebration of Holi, the festival of colour, spring and love. Thousands of people come together for the occasion, arriving in white clothes and leaving head to toe in colour.

It’s important that the association’s work is inclusive of all communities and everyone feels welcome, Kaushal expressed.

“It’s all a labour of love.”

The association has held cultural classes, hosted educational programmes, and puts on bi-weekly yoga classes at the local community centre. At Christmas, association members pitch tents outside their Massey headquarters and invite the community to enjoy some kai together.

For more than two years, the association has been providing free meals to the public. Kaushal explains how they identified an immediate need during the Auckland floods in January 2023. While those affected were cleaning up, finding accommodation and working through other issues, the association stepped in to take one worry away.

“The last thing you think of is what to cook yourself,” Kaushal says.

On day two of the floods, association members gathered to cook and distribute meals. Each day, they returned to cook healthy meals for those who needed them most. They walked the streets, knocking on people’s doors to see if they needed food, and parked up on a busy Henderson street to pass meals to anyone who asked. They did this every day for one month straight.

Now, every Friday, a group of association members, mostly retired men, continue what has become a Waitakere Indian Association tradition. They gather at the association’s headquarters and spend hours peeling potatoes, cutting onions, dicing cauliflower, sprinkling herbs, stirring, frying – all the ingredients to create wholesome, healthy food. The association partnered with Auckland food rescue charity Fair Food to get fresh food, while members sometimes also bring ingredients from their gardens. For the men, it’s all about giving back to the community.

In June, 2025, the Ministry’s Executive Leadership Team (ELT) joined the group to help prepare meals. As they scooped the curry into containers, Kaushal, a long-time stakeholder of our Ministry, spoke about the association’s history and shared stories from over the years. He shared how the preparation and distribution of food have become a regular activity and spoke about the positive impact it’s had on the community. Every week, they prepare 150 to 200 meals and distribute them to different locations, including the Salvation Army, community hubs and churches.

While its focus is on supporting the wider community, the association also strives to raise the profile of the Indian community’s contribution to New Zealand’s economy. When we visited in June , it was finalising a report on the economic contribution of Kiwi Indians, which it hopes to release later this year.

For more information on the association, visit its Facebook page.