March 15th 2019 will go down in the history of New Zealand as when we realised we are not as far away from terrorist violence as we might have thought, and may not be a country free of racism and bigotry as we might have thought. But as history has said - it can sometimes take a tragic event to trigger a wake-up call and challenge us to think about our own attitudes. Let's start by showing more peace, love and community for our fellow neighbours, after all we are all belong to the one human race.
Tawa Rotary board members Denise and Richard were humbled to be present at an historic event on Sunday - for the first time the Horouta Marae in Porirua was totally packed with more Muslims than Maori, and with community leaders (including a few invited Rotarian's).
We were honoured to be able to show our support to the Muslim Community as they grieve for dead and injured, family and friends in Christchurch. The emotional speech by Porirua Major Mike Tana - summed up all our inability to comprehend the tragedy as those children are our children, our sisters and brothers, our mothers and fathers. That New Zealanders totally accept cultural and religious diversity, and we want friendship and peace for all.
Heartfelt Thanks to the organisers, President Dai and committee members from the Porirua Multicultural Council, the Horouta Marae whanau, and Porirua City Council.
