DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—A Kenyan teacher from a remote village who gave away most of his earnings to poor students has won a highly competitive $1 million global prize that honors one exceptional educator a year.
Peter Tabichi is a science teacher who gives away 80 percent of his income to help the poor in the remote village of Pwani where almost a third of children are orphans or have only one parent, and where droughts and famine are frequent.
#Kenya‘s Peter Tabichi from Nakuru County wins the @VarkeyFdn Global Teacher Prize 2019.
“I was moved by the difficult situation in my village and thought that I could offer some help,” he says. “When you promote education you empower society and make the world a better place” pic.twitter.com/Jaa4wR71lm
— Tom Collins (@thomashcollins1) March 24, 2019
“I was moved by the difficult situation in my village and thought that I could offer some help,” Tabichi said. “When you promote education you empower society and make the world a better place”
He was selected out of some 10,000 applicants and awarded the Global Teacher Prize on Sunday, March 24, during a ceremony in Dubai hosted by actor Hugh Jackman.
.@petertabichi, the winner of the $1 million global teacher award prize calls his father on stage. He took care and educated Peter and his siblings by himself after their mother died. #GESF2019 @GESForum #TeacherPrize
Read more: https://t.co/sZx3kx0RTG pic.twitter.com/4sQw8cR49R
— Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) March 24, 2019
He’s the first African and male teacher to win the prize, which is awarded by the Varkey Foundation, whose founder established the for-profit GEMS Education company.
Teachers matter @petertabichi Africa has done it. Congratulations to Peter Tabichi for bagging the $1 million Global Teacher Prize #Kenya #education #Africa @VarkeyFdn pic.twitter.com/JZx0rLRUw3
— Busani Bafana (@maboys) March 24, 2019
Generous Donations
The winner of the largest Mega Millions jackpot in US history—$1.5 billion—is sharing her newfound wealth.
The lucky South Carolina woman, who has chosen to remain anonymous, is donating to the Alabama Red Cross to aid tornado relief and several South Carolina charities.
She decided to donate because she claimed the money when a tornado struck Alabama in early March, her lawyer Jason Kurland said.
“It just felt like we were having this great event when there were people suffering nearby,” Kurland told CNN.
Kurland added the winner doesn’t want to announce exactly how much she’s donating to the charities.
“We spoke with the charities and agreed it would be best not to announce. We want to announce the charities to spread awareness,” Kurland said.
The other organizations include the Ronald McDonald House of Charities of Columbia, South Carolina; In The Middle, a charity that helps women with breast cancer; the City of Simpsonville Art Center; and the One SC Fund for Hurricane Florence relief.
“Words can’t describe the feeling of such incredible luck,” the winner said in a Thursday statement through her lawyer.
“I do realize that such good fortune carries a tremendous social responsibility, and it gives me a unique opportunity to assist, support and contribute to charities and causes that are close to my heart.”
