MANILA – A 28-year-old Filipino won the prestigious “Hero of the Year” award given by Cable News Network (CNN) by besting 10 other finalists throughout the world, according to an announcement released on Sunday (Manila time) at the CNN website.
In its announcement, CNN honored Efren Penaflorida for “starting a pushcart classroom to bring education to poor children as an alternative to gang membership.”
Going with the prestigious award is a cash prize of $100,000 also donated by CNN.
The CNN opened an online voting for the 10 CNN “heroes” selected earlier throughout the world, including Penaflorida. Each received $25,000 for reaching the finals.
A total of 2.75 million votes were cast during the seven-week voting but CNN did not indicate how many votes went to Penaflorida.
When he was named as one of the 10 CNN heroes, Penaflorida landed in the cover of the Sunday magazine of the “Philippine Daily Inquirer,” the country’s largest circulation daily, in its October 22, 2009 issue and accompanied by an article which led off this way:
“From the muddy streets and wet markets of his Cavite City hometown to the flashy lights of Hollywood thousands of miles away. That’s how far teacher and civic worker Efren Penaflorida, 28, has gone and will go in his passion to bring education to out-of-school youths and very young children whose poverty may have limited their options to either jail or the graveyard.”
Penaflorida got the nation’s attention for his innovative “kariton” (pushcart) classrooms that he and his group, called Dynamic Teens Company, has introduced in Cavite City and neighboring towns in Cavite province, Southern Luzon.
Penaflorida himself admits that he comes from a poor family who could not afford to help him achieve his dream of becoming an engineer. His father is a tricycle driver while his mother is a laundrywoman who services the needs of their neighbors.
He said gangs appeared to be an attractive option when he first entered school, pointing out they offered protection, security, a claim to street fame or notoriety, even a way to make some money.
But fate intervened when he joined a Christian youth group, organized by World Vision, whose main thrust was, and still is, youth development.
While undergoing training, he said he met a mentor who has since become a large influence in his life, including his devotion to service, especially to the poor.
With the help of World Vision, Penaflorida said he managed to earn college degrees such as an associate diploma in computer technology from a school run by Catholic priests in Metro Manila and a bachelor’s degree in education from the government-owned Cavite State University.
According to Penaflorida, he and his group started the “pushcart classroom” in response to adversity. He disclosed they first bought books, learning materials and food packs to poor children via their backpacks.
When these proved too heavy, he said they started using pedicabs whose tires occasionally burst from the weight of their deliveries. The pushcart left idle during a fire in the ministry where they served proved to be the ideal vehicle, he added.
In time, the pushcarts became the group’s main vehicle for teaching the children not only the ABCs but also values, especially family values, and the importance of education. Travelling to different sites usually takes an hour, while classes last about 15 minutes.
Penaflorida’s innovative work did not escape notice from nongovernment organizations and the media. Before he made it to the CNN’s heroes, he obtained awards from Oprah’s Angel Network as well as the Gawad Genny Lopez “Bayaning Pilipino” (Filipino Hero) Award given annually by the Lopez family, who owns a string of companies, including ABS-CBN, the country’s largest radio and TV network.
In an interview with the Inquirer magazine, Penaflorida stresses the value of education. At the same time, he said he believes that no one is too poor or too damaged to change as he emphasized:
“It all boils down to making a choice. No matter how much you help people, if they don’t choose to change, nothing will happen.”
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