CNN Names Hero of the Year

Last week, Efren Peñaflorida was sharing a stage with Carrie Underwood, R&B singer Maxwell and British pop star Leona Lewis. Appearing in front of 3,000 people at the famed Kodak Theater in Hollywood, he gave a moving speech as thanks for the honor that was bestowed upon him. No, Peñaflorida is not the hottest, new singing sensation or an up-and-coming actor in an acclaimed Indie film.

What he is, is CNN’s Hero of the Year and you’ve probably never heard of him.

Efren Peñaflorida is the founder of the “Dynamic Teen Company,” a pushcart educational program in the Philippines aimed at presenting kids on the streets education as an alternative to gang membership.

Having grown up in an urban slum, Peñaflorida, 28, knew the pressures and temptations for kids in poverty to join gangs. These gangs are known for terrorizing youngsters, vandalism, and forcing members to rape young girls. Thus, at the age of 16, after standing up to a gang leader and refusing to join his gang, Peñaflorida chose to confront the gang issues of his community by starting the “Dynamic Teen Company” in hopes of diverting “teenagers like us to be productive.”

Every Saturday the “Dynamic Teen Company” takes education beyond the walls of institutions and into the streets with their pushcarts teaching children ranging from 2 to 14 years old how to read, write, do math and speak English. The organization also runs a hygiene clinic, where children can take a bath and learn how to brush their teeth.

Since its inception, the organization has had an estimated 100,000 volunteers help teach over 1,500 children living in the slums.

In his acceptance speech at the at the CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute event where he was honored, Peñaflorida said, “So to each and every person inside 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 to 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.”

The CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute special airs tonight on CNN at 8:00 pm.

For more information about the “Dynamic Teen Company” you can check out their website.

Other individuals that were honored at the event were:
Brad Blauser
Brad Blauser is providing hope and mobility to disabled children and their families in Iraq. Since 2005, his Wheelchairs for Iraqi Kids program has distributed nearly 650 free pediatric wheelchairs to children in need.

Roy Foster
Army veteran Roy Foster started Stand Down House to help veterans struggling with addiction and homelessness in Florida. Since 2000, his program has provided life-changing services to nearly 900 veterans.

Doc Hendley
Bartender Doc Hendley is providing clean water to communities worldwide. Through creative fundraising, his nonprofit Wine to Water has brought sustainable water systems to 25,000 people in five countries.

Andrea Ivory
Breast cancer survivor Andrea Ivory is bringing early detection to the doorsteps of uninsured women. With mobile mammography vans, her group has provided more than 500 free screenings in Miami, Florida.

Betty Makoni
Zimbabwe native Betty Makoni founded the Girl Child Network to provide a haven for young victims of sexual abuse. The organization has rescued more than 35,000 girls since 2001.

Jorge Munoz
School bus driver Jorge Munoz is helping hungry New Yorkers make it through tough times. Since 2004, he has handed out more than 70,000 meals from his mobile soup kitchen in Queens — for free.

Budi Soehardi
Budi Soehardi founded a children’s home in one of the poorest areas of Indonesia. Today, Roslin Orphanage in West Timor provides food, shelter and education to more than 45 children.

Derrick Tabb
Derrick Tabb started The Roots of Music to give young people an alternative to New Orleans’ streets. His music education program provides free tutoring, instruments and music instruction to more than 100 students.

Jordan Thomas
Jordan Thomas, 20, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, lost both of his legs in a boating accident in 2005. Since then, his Jordan Thomas Foundation has raised more than $400,000 to provide prosthetics for children in need.

sources: here and here.

Photo: Daily World Buzz

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