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My Turnby Toni Tabora-Roberts |
 |
MAKING A DIFFERENCE. Filipino activist Efren G. Peñaflorida, Jr. was named CNN’s Hero of the Year and awarded $125,000 to further his work with Dynamic Teen Company, a volunteer group serving poverty-stricken children and teens in the urban slums of the Philippines. Pictured is Peñaflorida in Manila after being conferred the Order of Lakandula, one of the highest awards bestowed on outstanding Filipinos. (AP Photo/Mike Alquinto)
From The Asian Reporter, V19, #48 (December 8, 2009), page 6.
Everyday hero
I recently wrote about boxer Manny Pacquiao, a Filipino sports hero who’s captured the hearts of people around the world. Little did I know, a totally different, but no less impressive, Filipino hero would emerge in the international consciousness just a few weeks later.
Last month, Filipino activist Efren G. Peñaflorida, Jr. was named CNN’s Hero of the Year and awarded $125,000 to further his work. Efren is founder and leader of Dynamic Teen Company, a volunteer group serving poverty-stricken children and teens in the urban slums of the Philippines. The year 2009 is turning out to be Filipino pride year extraordinaire!
Efren’s journey toward receiving the top award began earlier this year. In March, he was selected as one of 28 CNN 2009 Heroes from 9,000 heroes nominated by CNN viewers. All 28 were featured on a special program hosted by Anderson Cooper.
In October, the Blue Ribbon Panel — including the likes of Sir Elton John, Phil Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg, and Masi Oka (Hiro from NBC’s "Heroes)" — chose Efren as one of the year’s Top 10 Heroes, each of whom received a $25,000 grant. Viewers were then asked to vote for the most deserving, with the hero receiving the highest number of votes going on to become CNN Hero of the Year, an honor accompanied by an additional $100,000 award. In a star-studded event that aired Thanksgiving night, Anderson Cooper revealed Efren to be this year’s Hero of the Year.
Efren graciously received the award in the televised special seen around the globe. He gave a touching, inspiring speech. I admit, I was moved to tears seeing his humble and emotional acceptance and hearing his powerful message. "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.
Though becoming CNN’s Hero started for Efren just this year, his journey toward heroism began more than a decade ago when he was only 16 years old. Efren grew up very poor in a slum where he played in a nearby open dumpster as a child. As he got older, he was bullied and pushed toward gang life. (Sadly, today there are 130,000 Filipino youth who are gang members.)
It was this situation that inspired the 16-year-old Efren. Wanting to find an alternative outlet for young disadvantaged Filipinos, Efren created Dynamic Teen Company (DTC) with a few friends as a way to keep youth out of trouble. The teen volunteers began going around to poverty-stricken shantytowns to bring education to young children who don’t have an opportunity to go to school. Therein lies the brilliance of the program — teenagers are redirected from a life of street violence and crime to one of street activism and service.
With their travelling "pushcart classroom," teenage DTC volunteers teach basic English, math, and even hygiene skills. About 10,000 members have volunteered since the group’s inception in 1997 and they have taught more than 1,500 children. Remarkable.
For a long time I’ve dedicated myself to service; I’ve worked at and volunteered for many nonprofit organizations during the past 15 years. On these pages of My Turn, I’ve tried to extol the virtues of giving and volunteering, but I don’t believe I’ve ever worded it as succinctly and eloquently as CNN Hero of the Year Efren G. Peñaflorida, Jr: "The hero in you is waiting to be unleashed. Serve, serve well, serve others above yourself, and be happy to serve."
To learn more about Dynamic Teen Company, visit <www.dynamicteencompany.org>. For more information about CNN’s Hero program, including written articles and video stories about the nine recently recognized exceptional heroes, go to <www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes>.