Each year, CNN gives $100,000 to the winner (from a field of ten finalists---chosen from 9,000 nominees from all over the world) for its "Hero of the Year" award. This year, a 28-year-old Filipino, Efren Penaflorida, made it to the top ten. (A panel of 12 well-known personalities from various fields picked the finalists. Colin Powell was among the judges this year). If Efren wins this year's award (based on how many votes he gets, which will depend on us), he will be able to expand his mobile school program for the children of the slums in the Philippines . What this young man is doing to improve the lives of the kids in the slums is truly inspiring. Here is Efren's story and his Dynamic Teen Company (the organization he founded).
CAVITE CITY, Philippines (CNN) -- At 16, Rhandolf Fajardo reflects on his former life as a gang member. "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 Penaflorida, 28, also was bullied by gangs in high school. Today, he offers Filipino youth an alternative to gang membership through education. "Gang members are groomed in the slums as early as 9 years old," says Penaflorida. "They are all victims of poverty." For the past 12 years, Penaflorida 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. Penaflorida 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, Penaflorida 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." Penaflorida 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 Penaflorida, 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 Penaflorida and his trained teen volunteers. "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. Through his group, Penaflorida 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." Today, Advincula is a senior in high school and one of the group's volunteers. Penaflorida 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."
You can vote for Efren by clicking on the link found in the article. (There is no limit on the number of times you may vote for the Hero of the Year).
http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/vote/ Voting is open between now and Nov. 19. CNN will announce the winner and give out the award at a star-studded show on Thanksgiving night in L.A. at the Kodiak Theater (same venue for the Oscars). So, let's all help Efren win so that he will, in turn, be able to help more impoverished kids. The more votes Efren gets, the greater his chances of winning the "Hero of the Year" award and the $100K. It will take less than a minute to click a button to cast your vote. Let's all help Efren continue to make a difference in those slum kids' lives. Without his mobile school and his group of volunteers, those kids will probably never have a chance to set foot in a real school and learn their ABCs. Let's all vote for Efren!
This weekend I was so excited to meet my sister queen Bonnie (Mrs. Texas) at the Chili Cook Off benefiting the families of slain firefighters. Of course being in Texas our state dish is Chili! The event was set up in Grapevine, TX with several booths decorated each with its own individual theme. There were 3 categories, starting with the professional level of chili cooker (all who are certified) down to the novice chili cookers. It was a great day to be outside and we presented the winners with the awards. It is so great to be the first person to say congratulations to a winner who has worked so hard at their craft!
