Efren Penaflorida: Pinoy CNN Hero

A hero need not come in cape while flying fast to his destination. He may come in with a pushcart laden with school supplies, chairs and tables. He may not save people from physical danger but he sure can save them from illiteracy and offer a way out of poverty. This is our Pinoy hero, Efren Penaflorida.

For children who live in slums, poverty is just a way of life. Illiteracy comes with it and it becomes a cycle if they cannot get out of the quicksand of nothingness.

Efren Penaflorida knew this as he was one of them before but he was different. He worked hard to get to school and better yet, he worked hard to impart what he has learned.

Because children of poverty can barely come to school for a myriad of basic reasons such as they do not have food in their stomachs or they do not have slippers to wear to get to school, alot of them end up being drug addicts, gang members, bums and thieves. So, Efren decided to help by using his pushcart along with his volunteer-teachers and went around the slums teaching the children.

Because of his work along with his Dynamic Teen Company, Efren Penaflorida is now one of the nominees for the CNN Heroes. Please vote for him and let us be proud that he is our Pinoy CNN Hero. His win could also help more slum children to get out of the slums and have a better education.