Vote for Filipino CNN hero (Pushcart classes help break gang chain)
CAVITE CITY, Philippines (CNN) -- At 16, Rhandolf Fajardo reflects on his former life as a gang member.
Efren Peñaflorida's Dynamic Teen Company offers Filipino youth an alternative to gangs through education.
1 of 2 "My gang mates were the most influential thing in my life," says Fajardo, who joined a gang when he was in sixth grade. "We were pressured to join."
He's not alone. In the Philippines, teenage membership in urban gangs has surged to an estimated 130,000 in the past 10 years, according to the Preda Foundation, a local human rights charity.
"I thought I'd get stuck in that situation and that my life would never improve," recalls Fajardo. "I would probably be in jail right now, most likely a drug addict -- if I hadn't met Efren."
Efren Peñaflorida, 28, also was bullied by gangs in high school. Today, he offers Filipino youth an alternative to gang membership through education. Vote now for the CNN Hero of the Year
"Gang members are groomed in the slums as early as 9 years old," says Peñaflorida. "They are all victims of poverty."
For the past 12 years, Peñaflorida and his team of teen volunteers have taught basic reading and writing to children living on the streets. Their main tool: A pushcart classroom.
Stocked with books, pens, tables and chairs, his Dynamic Teen Company recreates a school setting in unconventional locations such as the cemetery and municipal trash dump.
Peñaflorida knows firsthand the adversity faced by these children. Born into a poor family, he lived in a shanty near the city dump site. But he says he refused to allow his circumstances to define his future.
"Instead of being discouraged, I promised myself that I would pursue education," he recalls. "I will strive hard; I will do my best."
In high school, Peñaflorida faced a new set of challenges. Gang activity was rampant; they terrorized the student body, vandalized the school and inducted members by forcing them to rape young girls, he says.
"I felt the social discrimination. I was afraid to walk down the street."
Peñaflorida remembers standing up to a gang leader, refusing to join his gang. That confrontation proved fateful. At 16, he and his friends "got the idea to divert teenagers like us to be productive," he says.
He created the Dynamic Teen Company to offer his classmates an outlet to lift up themselves and their community. For Peñaflorida, that meant returning to the slums of his childhood to give kids the education he felt they deserved.
"They need education to be successful in life. It's just giving them what others gave to me," he says.
Today, children ranging from ages 2 to 14 flock to the pushcart every Saturday to learn reading, writing, arithmetic and English from Peñaflorida and his trained teen volunteers. Watch Peñaflorida and his group in action with their push cart classroom »
"Our volunteers serve as an inspiration to other children," he says.
The group also runs a hygiene clinic, where children can get a bath and learn how to brush their teeth.
Since 1997, an estimated 10,000 members have helped teach more than 1,500 children living in the slums. The organization supports its efforts by making and selling crafts and collecting items to recycle. Take a look at the slums where Peñaflorida and his group spend their Saturdays »
Through his group, Peñaflorida has successfully mentored former gang members, addicts and dropouts, seeing potential where others see problems.
"Before, I really didn't care for my life," says Michael Advincula, who started doing drugs when he was 7. "But then Efren patiently dug me from where I was buried. It was Efren who pushed me to get my life together." Watch Advincula describe how he met Peñaflorida in the slums »
Today, Advincula is a senior in high school and one of the group's volunteers.
Peñaflorida hopes to expand the pushcart to other areas, giving more children the chance to learn and stay out of gangs.
"I always tell my volunteers that you are the change that you dream and I am the change that I dream. And collectively we are the change that this world needs to be."
Mga kababayan,
Efren Peñaflorida is already a finalist! Please let us vote for him now as many votes as you can to make him a winner! He will receive $100,000.00 kapag manalo sya' sigurado ako na mas lalong gaganahan at marami siyang matutulungang mga bata sa pag-aaral lalo na ang mga batang nakatira sa cementerio at sa mga sqautters area, kaya iboto nyo' at paki-email sa ating mga kapwa pinoy na tulungan natin sya'. Ang tagumpay ni Fajardo ay tagumpay ng lahat ng mga bata para sa kanilang magandang kinabukasan kapag may pinag-aralan.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:06:00 11/23/2009
Filed Under: Good news, Awards and Prizes, Education, Youth, Heroism
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Close this LOS ANGELES—A Filipino street educator has been named the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year for starting a “pushcart classroom” in the Philippines to bring education to poor children as an alternative to gang membership.
The selection of Efren Peñaflorida was revealed on Saturday night by CNN’s Anderson Cooper at the conclusion of the third-annual “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute” at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.
The gala event, taped before an audience of 3,000, premieres on Thanksgiving, Nov. 26, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) on the global networks of CNN.
As a child, Peñaflorida picked school over gang life in Cavite City and vowed to create a way for other children to make the same choice.
He created a program that brings books to children in slums and on the streets, and the 10,000 members of his Dynamic Teen Co. have brought reading, writing and hygiene to 1,500 youngsters.
(The Inquirer published Peñaflorida’s inspiring story and heroism in its issue of March 23, 2009.)
Be happy to serve
Peñaflorida, who will receive $100,000 to continue his work, was selected after seven weeks of online voting at CNN.com. More than 2.75 million votes were cast.
“Our planet is filled with heroes, young and old, rich and poor, man, woman of different colors, shapes and sizes. We are one great tapestry,” Peñaflorida, now a 28-year-old college graduate, said upon accepting the honor.
“Each person has a hidden hero within, you just have to look inside you and search it in your heart, and be the hero to the next one in need,” he said.
“So to each and every person inside in this theater and for those who are watching at home, the hero in you is waiting to be unleashed. Serve, serve well, serve others above yourself and be happy to serve. As I always tell my co-volunteers … you are the change that you dream as I am the change that I dream and collectively we are the change that this world needs to be.”
Documentary tribute
The top 10 CNN Heroes, chosen by a blue ribbon panel from an initial pool of more than 9,000 viewer nominations, were each honored with a documentary tribute and introduced by a celebrity presenter. Each of the top 10 Heroes received $25,000.
At the ceremony honoring people who make a difference in the lives of others, Kate Hudson, Pierce Brosnan, Neil Patrick Harris and other stars who are used to getting applause were giving it gladly.
“I’ve cried twice and we’re on hero three,” Harris said backstage after introducing one of the 10 “CNN Heroes.”
“There are so many awards shows every year for the Hollywood community that participating in something as effective as this makes those others feel inconsequential” and provides perspective, said Harris, star of CBS’ “How I Met Your Mother” and recent Emmy Awards host.
Emotional moment
Brosnan, honoring a woman who started an anti-breast cancer project, created one of the evening’s most emotional moments as he recalled his late wife’s battle against the disease.
She was a “magnificent mother, a wonderful actor,” he said of Cassandra Harris, who died of ovarian cancer in 1991.
“There are too many of us who have lost someone to this brutal disease called cancer, and we are all sick and tired of cancer winning,” Brosnan said in introducing breast cancer survivor Andrea Ivory, who runs a mobile mammography project in Miami that provides free screenings.
The pair posed backstage for photos, Ivory glamorous in a gown with an oversized pink bow—symbolic of the ribbons that mark the breast cancer battle.
“Stunning,” Brosnan said, smiling broadly as cameras focused on her.
“You make me nervous,” Ivory replied, but Brosnan would have none of it. “You’re the star,” he said.
Leona Lewis, Carrie Underwood and Maxwell performed, and other presenters included Nicole Kidman and George Lopez.
Shine light on everyday people
The awards show, which is unusual for a TV news network, was created in 2007 after CNN producers and correspondents talked about meeting many unsung heroes, said Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide.
“We do something that’s not done—shine a light on everyday people that do extraordinary work,” Walton said before the event.
Cooper, who hosted the tribute, said: “With the recognition they receive on our stage they’ll be able to help thousands and thousands of people. Through their efforts, lives will be changed and lives will be saved.”
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