A Hero Is Born

Efren "Kuya Ef" Geronimo Peñaflorida Jr. (Born March 5, 1981) is an educator and social worker in the Philippines. He has been named "CNN Hero of the Year" in 2009 for his outstanding advocacy to educate Filipino out-of-school youth through "pushcart classes." He founded the Dynamic Teen Company (DTC) at the age of 16 years old. He now works in a local private school during the week and continues his work with the DTC every Saturday.

Teaching and advocacy• In 1997, at 16 years old, Peñaflorida

started a youth group in his high school aimed at diverting students attention away from street gangs, and towards community activism and personal development. Joined by other classmates, they named the group "Dynamic Team Company".

• Dynamic Team Company started as a friendship club of around 20 members, with an aim of providing youth awareness projects, talent and self-development activities, and community services. They partnered with Club 8586, another community service organization operating in the area.

• They eventually pioneered the idea of the "pushcart classroom", wherein pushcarts were stocked with school materials such as books, pens, tables, and chairs, and then used on Saturdays to recreate school settings in unconventional locations such as the cemetery or trash dump.

• Today, DTC's "pushcart classroom" also teaches basic reading and writing to street children.

CNN Hero Peñaflorida was nominated for CNN Heroes by Club 8586, the youth group that

financed his elementary and high school education. After sifting through 9,000 nominees from over 100 countries, CNN's Blue Ribbon Panel selected Peñaflorida as one of its 28 heroes of 2009. On October 1, Peñaflorida was named among the ten finalists. On November 22, he was named CNN Hero of the Year for 2009. The award includes $100,000 cash to continue his work with Dynamic Teen Company. Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo conferred on Peñaflorida the Order of Lakandula in a ceremony at Malacañang Palace upon his return to the Philippines.

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