Nairobi, 16 December, 2019 / 3:48 am (ACI Africa).
The Kenyan Franciscan Friar who, in March won the US$1 million Global Teacher Prize for 2019, Br. Peter Mokaya Tabichi was Thursday, December 12 among other Kenyans conferred with Presidential Awards at the Nairobi State House, an award the 37-year-old science teacher has described as a privilege and an honor.
“I received Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (MBS) award at state house, and I feel so privileged for the honor given,” the religious brother from the congregation of the Order of St. Francis (OSF) told ACI Africa in an exclusive interview Friday, December 13, a day after he was hosted by Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta.
One of the orders, decorations and medals of Kenya awarded by the country’s President to acknowledge various citizens for their exemplary services to the nation and achievements in various fields of work, MBS falls under the second highest category of the awards “Order of the Burning Spear” after “Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya.”
Br. Tabichi explained to ACI Africa how he might have been identified for the recognition saying, “The person who went through my profile mentioned that what I have done with the school and community has marched qualifications that Kenya looks into so as to give such awards.”
The Friar who teaches at Keriko Mixed Day Secondary School in Kenya’s Nakuru County, a semi-arid location of the Rift Valley added, “I can say after being the global teacher prize winner and of course receiving many other awards since then, this has put Kenya on the global map and might have made me achieve this honor.”
