Kenyan teacher among 50 finalists for global award

A teacher’s quest to reverse the high rate of malnutrition within communities in Bomet County could win him the coveted Global Teacher Prize.

Dominic Orina,34, teaches at Kugerwet Primary School in Konoin, Bomet County. He is among the top 50 global finalists eyeing the prestigious global award.
The prize is an initiative by the Varkey Foundation organised in collaboration with UNESCO.

Every year, the initiative recognises one exceptional teacher who has contributed outstandingly to the profession and shines a spotlight on the important role teachers play in society.

Now in its ninth year, Orina might soon walk away with the USD 1 million (Sh129.4 million) Global Teacher Prize, the largest prize of its kind.

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“By unearthing thousands of stories of heroes that have transformed young people’s lives, the prize hopes to bring to life the exceptional work of millions of teachers all over the world,” the Varkey Foundation noted.

But it is Orina’s quest to see a self-sufficient society, healthy pupils, and an active community that finally propelled him to the global limelight. The quest, he tells The Standard, presented itself as a challenge at first.

It all started in 2017 when Orina was posted to a new school in Bomet County, a different location from where he grew up accessing a variety of vegetables. During the same period, a health report revealed that the area had high cases of malnutrition.

“In my new place of work, the communities around focused more on tea growing, and coming across the nutritious traditional vegetables was difficult. I took up the challenge, first by planting them in sacks and containers since I was living in a rented house with no space,” Orina said.

The initiative that started to solve a challenge finally inspired him to replicate the same in school and teaching learners how to do it.
“I finally involved the parents, asking them to support their children with the projects. I started supplying them with a variety of seeds to grow in the kitchen gardens at home,” he added.

Orina’s lessons were not only physical, he also taught the masses online how they could grow vegetables, an initiative that saw him gain over 480,000 followers on social platforms.

“Often, when schools close, I undertake community projects with the students where I visit their homes to check the progress and conduct lessons,” he said.

But even as learners started cultivating different varieties of vegetables, the teacher came up with another innovative idea. He encouraged learners to open bank accounts to allow them to save some proceeds from farming. Currently, 15 learners are actively engaging in agri-business ventures, which have currently expanded to include child-rearing at home.

“We discussed with the parents encouraging the children to save some proceeds and they welcomed the idea. I approached a local bank for advice on opening junior accounts, which the bank helped us with,” Orina said.

Besides revolutionising the community with the agri-business venture, the teacher has also started an initiative dubbed ‘Dress Me Up’, which he undertakes with the help of his online followers. The initiative helps him buy uniforms for vulnerable learners within the school. So far, 150 children have benefitted from the initiative.

But what will Orina do with the prize money?

“There are a lot of little things that can be done for learners and communities in Kenya to address big problems. Combating malnutrition across the country and beyond, empowering and encouraging children to embrace sustainability through agri-business, and dressing up vulnerable children remain my biggest dreams,” he said.

From the 50 finalists, the list will be narrowed down to the top 10 finalists, who will be announced later this month.

The winner will then be chosen from the top 10 finalists by the Global Teacher Prize Academy and will be announced at the World Governments Summit, taking place in Dubai from February 11 to 13, 2025.

In 2019, Br Tabichi, a teacher from Keriko Day Secondary School, won the coveted Global Teacher Award. Tabichi was awarded for his selfless acts where he donates almost all his monthly income to help the poor learners. Varkey Foundation recognised him for his dedication, hard work and passionate belief in his student’s talent led his poorly resourced school to emerge victorious after taking on the country’s best schools in national science competitions.