Kenyan Teacher Makes History as First Religious Brother to Address UN General Assembly

His address to the General Assembly will come days after he recited the Franciscan prayer of peace at the opening of the United States of America Congress.

“It was a great privilege and honour to open the US Congress with the Franciscan prayer for peace at the Capitol,” he (Br. Tabichi) tweeted after leading the US Congress in the prayer.

The news of Br. Tabichi’s address to UNGA was received with joy by Franciscan brothers. 

“This is a big honour for Franciscan brothers. It shows that the UN recognizes our order as it plays a key role in the development of humanity,” Brother Tony Donald was quoted as saying.   

Br. Tabichi also met US President Donald Trump at the White House, Monday where they discussed African education matters.

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"I shared my humble views with the president on the importance of backing science and education in Africa," said Br. Tabichi.

In March, Br. Tabichi was recognized as World’s Best Teacher after emerging overall winner of the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize.

Br. Tabichi stood out from the rest of the nominees for the award due to his selfless commitment and dedication to his work and the society.  

His identity as a religious brother was widely ignored by many media channels that covered the Franciscan Friar’s journey to a historic victory, with many stopping at the fact that he was the first African to win the much-coveted prize of Global Best Teacher.

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.