CNN Hero of the Year, Efren Peñaflorida, at EN2010!

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.”

- Efren Peñaflorida Jr., 2009 CNN Hero of the Year

Last year, Filipino educator and social worker Efren Peñaflorida Jr. was named CNN Hero of the Year. He was 28 years old then and the first ever Filipino to receive such recognition.

Efren, fondly called Kuya Ef by friends and family, was awarded for his advocacy to educate Filipino out-of-school youth through “pushcart classes” — an advocacy which began 13 years ago.

In 1997, when Efren was 16 years old,  he founded the group Dynamic Teen Company or DTC.

He founded DTC with two other friends with a mission to teach English, Math and even Personal Hygiene to kids from 2-14 years old outside the four corners of a classroom. They teach on pushcarts with blackboards to underprivileged kids in the streets, in slum areas, dump sites — and wherever possible.

Don’t Get Even, Get Friendly
Efren was constantly taunted by bullies in school growing up, so much so that he wanted to get even with them. His mentor, whom he calls KB, discouraged him to take revenge but suggested instead to put up a Friendship Club.

“We’ll take revenge in a positive way,” Efren says in Tagalog, quoting his mentor, KB.

This Friendship Club eventually became the Dynamic Teen Company.

Efren shares, “Our goal (in DTC is) to make a small yet significant difference in our campus, in our families, and in our community.”

Great Things Start from Small Beginnings

True enough, DTC has come a long way from when it started.

Former drug users and petty thieves have been reformed and are now serving as volunteers. Former scavengers are now in school. Some of the children who remain unschooled are now able to read and write. DTC was able to reach thousands of children through their Mind Your Rights campaign and through their health-literacy work — these are among their many achievements.

Efren recalls how he and his peers were often discouraged by other people but his mentor continued to believe in them and that was enough to keep them going.

Efren holds on to 1 Timothy 4:12 as his personal life verse.

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”

His mentor told him to hold this verse dearly in his heart and, most importantly, to live it.

A Great Mentor

“KB showed me that my life has a purpose, that our meeting has a purpose, and even the negative things happening in my life has a purpose,” says Efren in his local language.

Not only that, KB also opened his eye’s to the fact that there are other kids like him looking for someone who’ll listen and help them realize their potential.

Efren believes in paying forward. He wanted so much to finish his studies, and he was able to do so with KB’s help. So now, Efren is doing the same for underprivileged kids and believes in his heart that eventually, the kids they help through DTC  will  do the same for others.

Faith in Action
One of the many kids DTC was able to help is Michael Advincula.

Michale first encountered DTC when he was ten years old.

Michael shares, “Sa outreach program ko po sila nakilala, sa dumpsite. (I met them in an outreach program in the dump site.)”

Michael was in a gang then but something about DTC caught his attention: The free sandwich.

Kids, including Michael,  kept on coming back initially because of the free snack but later on, they come back for reasons beyond that.

“Nung tumagal-tagal, nakita nila na may potential ako. In-encourage nila akong mag-aral, at tinulungan nila akong mag-aral. (Eventually, they saw that I had potential. They encouraged me to study, and they helped me study.)”

Michael saw God’s purpose and hand moving in his life. Now, Michael is helping DTC reach out to other kids like him.

Our Part
When asked, “What can we do to make a difference in our society?” Efren quips,  “Allow God to use us.”

Efren believes that our gifts from God have a purpose and says we can all contribute to improve the lives of other people.

“God put you where you are now so use that opportunity, whatever that is, to inspire and lead others to Him.”

Efren Peñaflorida’s faith and love for God and compassion for others allow him to give the best of him wholeheartedly.

Hear more from Efren at EN2010!

Photo credits:
Dynamic Teen Company
Associated Media