Give Forever: The Life and Philosophy of Zuhaib Abbas Bangash by Anna Bracewell-Worrall is a reflective non-fiction text that weaves personal story with social justice to explore generosity, resilience, and community responsibility. Through the life of Zuhaib Abbas Bangash, the text traces his journey from growing up in a dangerous region of Pakistan, fleeing violence and persecution, and arriving in Aotearoa New Zealand as a refugee with very little. Drawing on first-hand experiences, the text explains how Zuhaib’s faith, values, and lived understanding of hunger led him to offer free food every Sunday at his Glen Eden kebab shop to anyone who could not pay. By blending biography with wider social context, including homelessness, the cost of living, and public reactions to his actions, the text supports students to understand how personal values can drive meaningful social change.      

The text is ideal for integrated learning across literacy, health, and social sciences, supporting inquiry into empathy, community action, refugees and migration, inequality, and the ways individuals contribute to a more just society in Aotearoa New Zealand.

This pack contains a range of response activities complete with activity explainer videos for exploring thinking skills and developing emotional understandings and compassionate inquiry including:

• Blooms Higher Order Thinking activities
• Book Club guide for deepening text discussion
• A range of activities to explore emotional understanding, compassionate inquiry, empathy development, vocabulary and developing skills for self and co-regulation.

Curriculum Phase: Phase 3

Year Level: Year 5

English (NZC Levels 3–4):
reading for meaning and critical thinking, analysing author perspective and biography, synthesising information across sections, exploring theme and message, making connections between personal story and wider issues

Health and Physical Education:
wellbeing, relationships, empathy, resilience, social responsibility, helping others

Social Sciences – Aotearoa New Zealand Histories:
community action, migration and refugees, continuity and change, identity and belonging, social justice

Text type:
Non-fiction, biographical narrative, personal recount, social justice text

Key words include:
charities, community, giving, helping others, homelessness, refugees, migration, Pakistan, Glen Eden, kebab shop, food insecurity, social justice, inequality, resilience, empathy, relationships, Shia Muslim, faith, values, Taliban, safety, belonging, identity, community responsibility, Aotearoa New Zealand