Kenyan teacher, Peter Tabichi, who was named the winner of the one-million-dollar Global Teacher Prize 2019, has met US President Donald Trump.
White House Press Secretary, Stephanie Grisham, praised him for dedicating 80 percent of his monthly income to help the poor students in Kenya.
“Peter is a science teacher who gives away 80 percent of his monthly income to help the poor in his home country of Kenya,” Grisham said in a tweet after his meeting with Trump on Monday, 16 September 2019.
“His dedication, hard work, and belief in his student’s talent has led his poorly resourced school in Kenya to emerge victorious after taking on the country’s best schools in national science competitions. Peter, you inspire us all! Thank you for your commitment to your students,” Grisham added.
Tabichi was declared winner of the prize during a colourful ceremony at the Atlantis Conference Centre, held in Dubai on March 2019.
He was awarded the prize, which is the equivalent of a Nobel Prize in Education, in recognition of his outstanding contribution in nurturing the innovative talents of his students through his own Talent Nurturing Club and for using his teaching skills to empower the entire community of Keriko, Njoro in Rift Valley.
Tabichi, a member of the Fransiscan Brothers, is a mathematics and science teacher at Keriko Mixed Day and Secondary School in Nakuru County.
Through his mentorship, the students of Keriko Secondary developed an innovation that enables blind and deaf people to measure objects which was a major highlight in the 2018 Kenya Science and Engineering fair.
Keriko Secondary School maths and science team came first nationally in the public schools’ category and qualified to participate in the INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair in 2019 in Arizona, USA.
Tabichi further demonstrated his dedication to impacting the lives of his students by donating 80 per cent of his monthly income to help needy and by making the best of scare resources available for maximum impact.
Tabichi was the only African among the top 10 finalists for the Varkey Foundation’s Global Teacher award from over 10 000 nominations and applications from 179 countries around the world.
– APA
