Shakti Community Council Inc., earlier known as the Shakti Migrant Services Trust has its origins in the Shakti Asian Women's Support Group founded by Farida Sultana and 7 other Asian women in 1995, in Auckland , New Zealand .

The Women's Support Group was set up for ethnic women by ethnic women to overcome the barriers that come with migration and break the bonds of cultural oppression imposed on them for generations. Besides educating themselves in Life Skills and learning to become self-reliant, these women sought to challenge the cultural acceptance of Domestic Violence within their communities and build better lives for themselves and the next generation.

The Support Group grew from the confines of one tiny room to a national umbrella organisation with several centres ins North Island and South Island covering Central, West and South Auckland, Hamilton , Tauranga, Christchurch and offering multifarious, culturally-appropriate services to migrant and refugee families. The communities we service include Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Malay, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Burmese, Korean, Indian, Fiji Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Iranian, Iraqi and African. We service approximately 20,000 families every year.

The Council, besides supporting member organizations, nationwide, seeks to promote the development and growth of smaller non-profit Ethnic Community organisations in New Zealand .

• Shakti Asian Women's Centre Inc - Auckland

• Shakti Asian Women's Safehouse Inc. (2 Refuges) - Auckland

• Shakti Migrant Community Education Centre Inc. - Auckland

• Shakti Family Settlement & Social Services Inc- Auckland

• Shakti Education Training & Advisory Company (SETAC) *NZQA-Registered training & education provider (Auckaland and nationwide)

• The New Zealand Sikh Women's Association Inc - Auckland

• Shama Hamilton Ethnic Women's Centre Trust - Waikato region

• Shakti Ethnic Women's Support Group-Central Region Inc. (formerly Disha Bay of Plenty Ethnic Women's Support Group Trust - Tauranga)

• Shakti Ethnic Women's Support Group - Christchurch - Multipurpose House and refuge

• Advocacy
• Domestic Violence Intervention Programmes
• Refuge Services
• 24-hour Domestic Violence Crisis Call Centre
• Ethnic Community Law Services *(under development)
• Counseling & legal services
• Mental Health Referral
• Family Settlement
• Employment
• Social Services including Outreach work
• Community Education programmes like Road Safety, Driving, English language, Self-Employment & Income-generation Projects, Community employment
• NZQA-accredited educational and training programmes

The funders for our projects include Child Youth & Family (CYF), NZIS, Department of Labour, Lottery Grants Board, Work & Income, COGS, LTNZ, Road Safety Trust, J.R. McKenzie, ASB Trusts, United Way , Lion Foundation, Christchurch City Council, Auckland City Council and other private trusts.

Our services cover the Ethnic Family in a holistic manner. While the Women's Unit which consists of the Women's Centre and the Refuge looks into the issues that concern Ethnic Women and their safety, health and empowerment, the Family centre and Education centre addresses family issues through appropriate social services, harnessing Family Violence through culturally appropriate intervention programmes for men, assisting in the employment process and encouraging and assisting self-employment. Shakti is keen on providing support services in the area of immigrant mental health and public health as well as offering full-fledged community law services. We are currently pursuing these objectives.

Our goal is to assist migrant and refugee families integrate within the New Zealand mainstream harmoniously, taking into context the importance of acknowledging and operating in a multi-lingual and culturally appropriate environment, thereby ensuring the overall well-being and happiness of the immigrant community in New Zealand .

It may be noted that Shakti Community Council Inc. has received national approval from Child, Youth & Family as an umbrella organisation, enabling us to provide best-practice standards of social services in New Zealand .