by Adama Kone, Teacher Project Coordinator

We are proud to announce our first Teacher Award winner for the 21/22 school year! Ibrahim Touré of Judge Memorial Middle School received Mali Rising’s Most Creative Teacher Award.

Ibrahim Touré teaches math, physics and chemistry at Judge Memorial Middle School. Judge Memorial Middle School’s principal, Mr. Diarra, nominated Mr. Touré as the most creative teacher because he made a beautiful sample of an electrical circuit on a piece of wood with bulbs and wires (see photo). Thanks to Mr. Touré’s creativity, many of the students at Judge Memorial Middle School can now make an electrical circuit because they were able to see one in real life!

Principal Diarra told me that Mr. Touré has invested in motivating his students this school year (2021-2022) through acting out many of his lessons and by trying all his best to bring examples and activities that students would like and admire. Mr. Touré makes a big effort to be sure his students actually see and touch the materials they are studying. “My students get more engaged during my classes any time I bring actual materials into the  classrooms and they get to ask more questions as well,” said Mr. Touré.

As a reward for winning Most Creative Teacher, Mr. Touré received a large dictionary, a Ciwara wooden statue, and a nice T-shirt. Mr. Touré was very excited to get the awards and was proud of his work. He said that getting the awards made him think about how he has been trying his best to help students at Judge Memorial Middle School and the award is a symbol of the success of this work. Mr. Touré tried to be helpful to all his colleagues as well through his awards by leaving his dictionary at the principal’s office so that his co-workers are able to use the same dictionary as needed.

When Mr. Touré shared the news with his wife, she was very excited. His wife lives about one hundred kilometers away from him, so Mr. Touré only visits his family about every two months. When Ibrahim arrived home recently and told his wife about the Mali Rising Foundation teacher’s award that he received, his wife was excitedly astonished and hugged him many times. She congratulated her husband and told him to carry on his great work at Judge Memorial Middle School. Then she said this: “Good work always pays good things’’.

Mr. Touré gave his prize T-shirt to his wife. His wife wears the T-shirt very often to show her love for her husband and make herself proud of him. Mr. Touré keeps the CIWARA statue at his home as a great reminder and he hopes to be able to talk to his kids about how he got the prize in the future.

Mr. Touré became a father of a baby boy a month ago and he loves his new son vry much. Despite being so busy acting out lessons with students, Mr. Touré plays enjoys playing soccer with the village children in the evening. He loves to be familiar with kids from Judge Memorial Middle School, to know what they need and be helpful to them.