At dusk Annie Coates not only opens her restaurant in Brooklyn, New Zealand for dinner, but also opens her heart.

[Annie Coates, Restaurant Owner]:
“Doing a service is the spice of life.”

But it’s not spice that makes her restaurant special, it’s the workers. They are Asian refugees mainly from Burma. Those lucky enough to escape through the border.

[Annie Coates, Restaurant Owner]:
“They are displaced people, villages are burnt down, or they have to escape through the border for their survival.”

Once here they are often alone, and empty handed, worse yet leaving broken families behind. But Aunty Annie is optimistic.

[Annie Coates, Restaurant Owner]:
“Because New Zealand is the land of opportunites.”

She offers them a job and warmth. They learn how to prepare food, work in the kitchen and wait on tables. Aunty Annie mentors them and teaches them life skills, how to understand the culture here and most importantly practise the English language.

[Annie Coates, Restaurant Owner]:
“That’s a big step. Once they can conquer English, they can go to their dream.”

And dreams are exactly what Aunty Annie offers. In the last seven years more than 30 refugees have gone on to more successful jobs, to graduate from college, to settle down and even to rebuild families.
Even at her restaurant, it's hard to find somebody who hasn’t been touched by Aunty Annie's heart.

[Employee]:
"She's got a really good heart."

[Customers]:
“Wonderful, she’s wonderful.”

[Customer]:
“I think she has the heart of a saint.”

Auntie Annie's tireless efforts have been recognized. She just won the Social Hero Service award, gifted by New Zealand's prime minister, John Key. And all this time Annie gives and gives, not even for a dime. A gift of hope, she says, that money can never buy.

[Annie Coates, Restaurant Owner]:
“You got big satisfaction you can’t compare with any money or lottery or anything like that.”

NTD, Wellington, New Zealand.