ASB Good as Gold: Principal steps in to care for kids after tragedy strikes Dunedin family

April 21, 2021

When one mum fell ill, Opoho Primary School principal Jenny Clarke stepped in and took the woman’s children home to stay with her.

This week’s ASB Good as Gold winner is a school principal prepared to go the extra mile for her students.

When Tanika got a call in London to say her mum in Dunedin was on life support with a poor prognosis – her first thought was what would happen to her much younger siblings, with no family in New Zealand to look after them until she could make it home, through all the COVID-related travel issues and MIQ requirements.

It was looking like they would be placed into social welfare care until she made it to New Zealand.

That was until the very special Opoho Primary School principal, Jenny Clarke, stepped in and said she would take the children home to stay with her.

For over three weeks Jenny made sure, with the help of the Opoho school staff and community, that the children had a warm, loving home, were taken to all their weekend sporting activities and she took them to see their mum in hospital every day.

Thankfully, their mum made it through and is now back at home with them, awaiting an operation.

ASB thought that this demonstration of selfless care by Clarke and the Opoho school community needed to be recognised with an ASB Good as Gold Award with $5000 for Clarke and $5000 for Opoho School.

In a special double surprise, ASB also gave Tanika and her family $5000 to help them through these difficult times.

Watch the heart warming surprise in the video above.

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