Peter Tabichi is a science teacher from a very poor village in Kenya. He makes very little money from his job, but he gives away 80% of his salary to help his students. Many of them are orphans or have families so poor they lack food or even books. Peter gives what little he has so his students can keep coming to school.
Even though his school has only one computer, no steady internet, and too many students in each class, Peter’s students beat schools that have more resources. They won science contests at both the national and international level. They were also honored by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Peter was chosen from over 10,000 teachers across 179 countries to win the 2019 Global Teacher Prize in Dubai. It was his first time on a plane, and he had never left Kenya before. Peter won $1 million and was overwhelmed with tears. But instead of keeping it, he used that money to build a library and science lab. He hired more teachers, made sure students had food, and taught communities how to grow drought‑resistant crops in a garden. Peter didn’t wait until he had a million dollars to start giving. He was already giving when no one was watching.
(Photo: Peter Tabichi / Getty)
