Vatican City, Mar 14, 2016 / 23:08 pm
A Palestinian school teacher on Sunday became the recipient of a US$1m international award for her work with children – and it was Pope Francis who announced the winner.
"A population that is not well educated because of wars, or by other reasons that exist in order not to get any education, is a population that decays," the Pope said in a pre-recorded video message announcing Hanan Al Hroub as the winner of the Global Teacher Prize, awarded by the Varkey Foundation.
"That is why I would like to highlight the noble profession of a teacher."
A teacher in the West Bank, Hroub was awarded the Global Teacher Prize for her specialization in working with children exposed to violence at a ceremony held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates' largest city.