A sad teacher appreciation history: Sakina Daudi

Her name was Sakina Daudi and she was the face of WTD ‘04. Few knew her name, and yet many around the world have seen her face. Hers is the story of a teacher who will be remembered. Teacher appreciation is, in her case, a feeling beyond death. Sakina Daudi is the Malawi teacher portrayed on the posters and leaflets published for the occasion of World Teachers' Day 2004. Sakina passed away in the spring of 2004 at the age of 31, due to complications linked to the AIDS virus. Her ex-husband, likewise ill, share the responsbility of raising their 5-year-old son with Sakina’s sister. The sixty pupils of whom Sakina was in charge, now join other classes on overcrowded benches in the Ngwenya Primary School. Despite losing a thousand teachers each year, the Ministry has not enrolled a single new teacher since three years ago, due to the lack of funds. Sakina was young, intelligent, pretty and devoted. Hundreds of both male and female teachers (nearly 2% of the 54,000 teachers in the country) die each year due to complications linked to AIDS.

Source: Education International (EI)

Know more about Sakina Daudi, the face of World Teachers’ Day 2004