New President for Wellington Council

I am pleased to announce that Eustie Kamath, President and Treasurer of the Onslow Conference, has been unanimously elected as President of the St Vincent de Paul Society Wellington Area Council, following my retirement (John Kennedy-Good).

Eustie brings to the position a wealth of experience on social justice issues and has participated in the life of several parishes including as an active member of the Onslow SVdP Conference and as a Council Member.

Eustie Kamath:

“After living and working in three continents I arrived in Auckland, New Zealand in November 1995 with my wife and three children. Living throughout the North Island, we settled in Wellington in 2012, with no intention of moving again.

I have been active in the church. Before I delve into the details – I was born to a devout Catholic family. I took my faith for granted till it was severely tested when I went to study engineering in Kanpur at the Indian Institute of Technology. This institute has some of the brightest minds in the country and they chose to paint a target on my back as I was part of two visible minority groups - South Indian and Christian. I had two choices to lose the target – roll over and play dead or stand up and defend my values. I chose the latter. To do so, I had to learn a lot more about my faith. My Jesuit schooling went a long way in giving me the strength to stand up and be counted.”

Experience:

  • Founding Member of Social Justice Group – Eastern Suburbs Auckland and Northern Suburbs Wellington

  • Member Social Justice Group – Palmerston North

  • Eucharistic Minister – Auckland, Palmerston North and Wellington

  • Parish Council Member – Star of the Sea Parish Howick Auckland, St Benedict’s Parish Onslow Wellington

  • Chair Parish Council – Ohariu Parish of St Francis of Assisi, Wellington

  • Member – Passionist Family Groups Auckland, Palmerston North, Wellington

  • Joint Leader – Passionist Family Group, St Benedict’s parish community, Onslow

  • Facilitator – Lazarus Experience, a healing experience for the divorced and separated

  • Member – St Vincent de Paul Society Onslow Conference

  • President and Treasurer – St Vincent de Paul Society Onslow Conference

  • Advocacy – defended submissions to NZ Parliament before three sub-committees

  • Trained as a Side-by-Side mentor, Seasons for Growth (for prisoners) facilitator

We welcome Eustie to his new role and wish him every success in furthering the Vision and Mission of the St Vincent de Paul Society in Wellington.

John Kennedy-Good, Past Area President

St Vincent de Paul Society in Wellington

John Kennedy-Good