Peter Tabichi, a maths and physics teacher at Keriko secondary school in Pwani Village in Kenya could not hide his tears of joy when he was winner of the $1m prize, beating 10,000 nominations from 179 countries.
The prestigious award was given him by Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2019 at a ceremony in Dubai hosted by actor Hugh Jackman, reports say.
Peter Tabichi was in the news recently following his nomination by the Varkey Foundation in recognition for his humanitarian work to give hope to children who would otherwise drop out of school to engage in social vices.
It is reported that he teaches in an overcrowded and poorly equipped school where about 90% of the students come from poor homes, with many dropping out to engage in drug abuse and other social vice, while teenage pregnancy and suicide are also rampant.
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The students, some of whom are reported to be orphans trek about 7 km on very bad roads to school, which in itself is a disincentive, forcing them to drop out of school.
Guess what Tabichi did with 80% of his salary to merit this global recognition!
According to yabaleftonline.ng, with a student-teacher ratio of 58:1, he started a “talent nurturing club” and expanded the school’s science club, helping pupils design research projects of such quality that many now qualify for national competitions.
His efforts reportedly culminated in his students winning an award from the Royal Society of Chemistry after participating in international science competitions where they made use of local plant life to generate electricity.
You can imagine how the people of Pwani Village, students and staff of Keriko secondary school will be happy to receive Peter Tabichi back from Dubai.
Hopefully, his story will impart some other people to help the needy and vulnerable in society, instead of exploiting them for their own parochial interests.