Sports and wellness wing head Dr Zohaib Rana Amjad Ali said wellbeing was a critical aspect in empowering the Pakistani people in Dunedin.
Community gatherings provided the chance for refugees or immigrants to share the challenges of settling in to a new country.
"We meet up, we discuss, and then we talk about stories back home.
"It’s very relatable. It resonates with us, it’s very personal to us.
"It makes us feel supported.
"It makes us feel like ... we have got a shoulder to lean on."
The association aimed to make sure people in need were not left alone.
"For instance, if someone is unwell, or something like that, it’s very common in our culture to go and be with them, send food to their house," he said.
The association organised physical activities such as gathering at Bayfield Park to play cricket and going for walks after morning prayers on Sunday.
The Dunedin Botanic Garden, Ross Creek, Outram Glen and Mount Cargill were some of the walks the group enjoyed around the city.
"And once that walk is over, we have a nice big breakfast together and just talk.
"New Zealand, of course, is so beautiful and it’s such a comfortable place to be in."
During winter the group takes part in indoor activities, including wall climbing and badminton.
"One of our main objectives is also to integrate into the Kiwi community and speak to them, understand their culture better.
"We just want people to come out and learn about different cultures."
Mental health was an important consideration.
"People who have mental health problems should be supported and they should not be considered fragile or weak.
"That is an absolutely wrong way of understanding it.
"We should try to understand them — have more empathy, more compassion.
"Try and step in their shoes and try to see what it might be like."
People had different challenges coming from Pakistan to New Zealand.
"We actually try to really encourage people to discuss their problems with us."
Immigrants coming from Pakistan missed many aspects from home.
Being able to come together on a regular basis provided opportunities for the community to look out for each other.
"I feel like in this day and age sometimes ... people don’t have anyone to speak to.
"One thing that we really want to promote is for people to speak about what they feel."
This was an important aspect of empowering people, he said.
