This August, all eyes were on the Indian state of Kerala, which was devastated by the worst ever floods in its history, leaving hundreds dead and rendering lakhs homeless. As funds poured into the flood-hit State from across the world, the Indian diaspora in Australia too worked its hardest to help with the relief efforts.
One such effort was by the Kerala Hindu Society of Melbourne, organised a grand fundraiser alongside its annual Onam celebrations, at Springvale Town hall, in the City of Greater Dandenong. The event had more than 3,500 people attend to “Stand with Kerala”, and raise funds for the rebuilding of the state.
August was also a month that the women in the community were celebrated. Our cover story this month highlights the work of Joshi Lawyers, spearheaded by Dinesh and Pallavee Joshi. Pallavee is a hard working community leader, a lawyer, an entrepreneur, a mother of two with a strong social conscious and an extreme passion for family law. Pallavee is the epitome of a passionate community leader and has emerged one of the most vocal voices of the Indian diaspora.
To recognise the contributions of women in the Diaspora, the Multicultural Association of Community Empowerment held an annual conference on 25 August at Melton Country Club, where 100 women gathered in traditional attire to celebrate and encourage one another.
Several women were awarded that evening for their contribution towards the empowerment of women. Among them were Ms Kaushalya Vaghela, who got the Community Leader of the year, Brigette Kasindi and Seema Pawar who were named Community Champions, and Dr Preeti Khillan and Dr Manjula O’Connor, for their work in women’s health.
Also, congratulations to the winners of 2018’s ‘The Indian Sun Person of the Year’ awards—Parampreet Singh Rajput, Sonika Sha, Dr Subhash Sharma and Ms Sadhna Wilson for their contributions to the multicultural community at large.
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