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t isn't very often that we here at PHILNEWS.COM find ourselves speaking highly about someone or something on our website. And while some of our readers tend to fault us for this, we do realize this "shortcoming" of ours but nonetheless feel that our job is not to wax poetic about the positive things we see, but rather point out the things that need fixing, need improving, or need changing. Well, this week we're making an exception to highlight an outstanding Filipino who was chosen by CNN (Cable News Network) as one of the finalists in their CNN Hero of the Year contest. He needs your vote to win. Click on this link to cast your vote online (you can vote more than once).

Efren Peñaflorida, was born and raised in the "squatter areas" of Cavite. Surrounded by gangs, drugs and poverty, Efren could have easily drifted into a life of crime or despair. Instead, this resourceful and determined young man decided to not just lift himself out of the predicament he found himself in, he decided to take along with him other young children in similar situations.

Barely sixteen years old when he started, Efren now 28, runs the Dynamic Teen Company and its "Pushcart Classrooms." These are pushcarts loaded up with books, writing materials, chairs, tables and even a chalkboard, that are wheeled around the slums of the city so children who would otherwise never have the opportunity to get a decent education—and a fair shot at life—can at least learn the basics and maybe, just maybe pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.

And by doing what he and his team of volunteers are doing, Efren Peñaflorida might one day awake the rich and the powerful from their fairytale dream world where Rolex watches and thousand dollar dinners are the norm, and face the stark reality that their Philippines is now a third-world country and it is high-time all Filipinos work together to raise it back up to its rightful place as a proud and respected country among the global family of nations.

POSTSCRIPT:
Efren Penaflorida wins 2009 CNN Hero of the Year Award

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