It takes a lot to move Jackie Passi, but her work with a teenage girl whose father was in prison is something that does.
"She is an amazing young woman," the Auckland secondary school teacher says. "Her family is the epitome of resilience; I think I learn as much from her as she does from me."
Passi, who has been teaching history at Waitakere College in west Auckland for 16 years, is talking about Orla Angi who she mentors in her spare time through Pillars, a charity set up to help children who have parents serving prison sentences.
"We meet every week or fortnight and hang out for a few hours talking life. She wants to be a journalist; like her I come from humble beginnings but I have made a career for myself and I want her to see that example."
Yet this mentoring is just the tip of the iceberg; when it comes to dedicating time helping others, Passi is possibly without equal.
Heavily involved in multiple programmes to help students outside the classroom, she also cares for family and friends – earlier this year sacrificing two weeks of her annual leave to be at the bedside of a former student critically ill in hospital in Sydney.
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These - and many other community-minded deeds she fits into an already busy life - saw Passi being named an ASB Good as Gold recipient. The award recognises all the extra-curricular work she does including:
• Mentoring in the Great Potentials Foundation's MATES programme for low-income communities.
• Helping with Pasifika PowerUp, an after school homework programme in Ranui, west Auckland.
• Mentoring in the Tula'I Pasifika Leadership programme in west Auckland.
• Assisting with Pit Stop, a fortnightly breakfast the school provides for students.
Jade Barker, a friend who nominated Passi for the award, says there is so much to love about her: "Jackie is the most humble, down-to-earth person I know. Although she has never had the chance to have her own children, she is a mother to so many and is always dipping into her own pocket to provide everyday necessities for kids in need.
"While she is a brilliant teacher and dean, anyone who knows her knows she will go above and beyond to help anyone in need."
Passi says she couldn't say how many hours she spends working in the community. "Sometimes I don't have the time, but I always find it. There is much need and I feel this is my purpose, my calling.
"I do it for love, for family, to make a difference, to bring about social change and equity for all, to build better communities and to help kids be confident and better people," she says. "Kids need positive role models and the more we keep in school, the less we will see in the courts.
"We have a dire situation with mental health in New Zealand, with anxiety, with suicide. We can't ignore it, we've got to talk about it because the kids are our future."
All too often Passi gets to work and is saddened by what she sees - students coming to class without breakfast and no food for lunch.
"It is humbling and it saddens me," she says. "It's not because parents are lazy, it's because they are struggling financially and despite having two or three jobs, they find living in Auckland so expensive.
"They can't go anywhere else because Auckland is all they know."
Passi is so anxious to ease the plight of these hungry students, she devotes some of her spare time helping organise Pit Stop, a fortnightly breakfast provided by the school.
But for Passi, who was born in Samoa and moved to New Zealand when she was nine, her work is not without its serendipities. Her mentoring of Orla through Pillars meant she got to meet Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their recent visit to New Zealand.
Because of their interest in programmes supporting vulnerable children, the royal couple was at the charity's south Auckland office to present a number of Pillars awards. Orla was among the recipients.
"I shook hands and exchanged greetings with them," says Passi. "They are beautiful people and so down to earth. It was surreal, it was the highlight of my year and I'm still buzzing."
Another serendipity is the Good as Gold award itself. The ASB is giving her $10,000 for a trip she has longed dreamed of - taking her father to the Vatican in Rome.
"It is something we always talked about in our family conversations over the years," she says. "I have saved and saved for it, but something else urgent always comes up. It's going to be amazing to finally be able to take him."
Passi is hoping to make the trip next September and plans to take her mum, a sister and two nieces as well: "Dad is now in his 70s and neither he nor mum have been to Europe so it's going to be very exciting for them."