By Danielle Kutchel
Building bridges, making connections and lifting community spirits – it’s all in a day’s work for Aanchal Meshram, founder of the Indian Australian Community Cooperative (formally the Indian Association Cardinia Casey).
Her extraordinary dedication to the cause has earned her a high recognition: late last year, Ms Meshram was a recipient of an Award for Meritorious Service to the Community, as part of the Victorian Multicultural Commission’s Awards for Excellence.
According to the Commission, Ms Meshram received the award for “founding the Indian Association Cardinia Casey, the first Indian association in the outer south-east suburbs of Melbourne”.
Ms Meshram is humble about the recognition, insisting that running the association and its events is a team effort.
“There is a team behind it, not just one person,” she said.
Ms Meshram said the award came out of the blue – and she’s still in the dark as to who nominated her for it.
“I got a call a week before the awards and they said ‘congratulations’ and I said ‘oh my God!’” she laughed.
“I’m quite honoured to win and to be there to receive it and represent the community. But it is a celebration of the team as well.”
Mere weeks after Ms Meshram’s award, the association’s Cardinia Diwali 2019 was named as a nominee for Cardinia Shire’s Event of the Year Award, capping off an incredibly busy year for the team.
The association has another full calendar ahead, including school-based workshops, social events, community yoga lessons and larger festivals like Diwali.
The New Year will see a greater focus on making their events accessible for people of all abilities, according to Ms Meshram.
The spotlight on women and youth will also continue, and with plenty of community interest in yoga and fitness, Ms Meshram said they plan to develop programs in that area as well.
