I am greatly thankful to the Telugu people of Auckland and New Zealand for encouraging me to start and register in New Zealand, the first ever Andhra Pradesh Association in the world. The name Mana Andhra Telugu Association (MATA) is derived out of a Telugu meaning (Mana=ours). Based on people's encouragement and support, I though the name perfectly suits with a sense of oneness which has the effect of gathering the element of composition into a harmonious association taking into account the ideas and opinions of different sects of people in the telugu community.
Being the founder of MATA allowed me to get an unique opportunity. It allowed me to dream to create a vision to serve all the telugu people here in New Zealand. Coming from a business and political background, I was able to establish the values that have personal meaning to me and to serve the people and society.
I believed that with the right team and support, I could create and establish an organization with a culture that keeps our people engaged and joyful. I also realized that achieving the vision to the fullest would be a journey that would never end, because MATA is alive and will continue to develop and flourish.
I started the MATA with fifteen families, and I am proud to say that we have a support of nearly eighty-one families in a short span. We will continue to grow, always keeping an eye on the people and social service.
To conclude, I would like to thank all supporters who worked hard to establish MATA and I would like to extend my best wishes to The President of MATA and the team for all services they propose to do in the coming days.
May God bless us and direct us to what is good for MATA and New Zealand.
Best Regards
PRATAP REDDY NANDI REDDY
Founder MATA
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Firstly, I want to thank the members of MATA for giving me an opportunity to serve as the first / founder President and to be a part of an organization that not only serves the community, but also allows friendships to be created within the Telugu Community. Being in Public Service as a Scientist, Policy & Intelligence officer in NZ Government sector, I feel that I have to do something to the society and community as a whole – which I feel that I will be able to do this.
The next three years comes as a challenge for me and the Executive Team as we continue to develop and improve our services that reflect our culture that will be beneficial to our members and communities. Both me and the Team are excited about the opportunity to give something back to the community.
The second challenge we will be having is increasing our membership. With that said, we need to bring some youth into the association. It is good to know that the membership numbers of families are continuously increasing, a proposal to set up a youth and women’s wing is under consideration. If any member needs any help or ideas, I will be at your disposal to answer any questions.
Several opportunities will be available in the coming years to organize functions, celebrations, meet and greet programs, and general get-together within MATA. Our founder and I are engineering together to make sure we celebrate these and make a grand success. We strive to extend, explore and endeavor good services to all the Telugu speaking people irrespective of the geographical areas.
Members of MATA has a wealth of knowledge, and experience in different fields combined with the networking opportunities. This has helped me to extend our invitation to new Telugu speaking people to join MATA. For our current and prospective members, I want to assure you that my intention, and that of the team, is to develop and grow MATA without limits. Last, but not the least, I sincerely thank some generous members of MATA who would like to remain anonymous for their financial contributions during the initial stages. I look forward to a productive successful presidency and invite each of you to participate, and get involved.