A Filipino push cart educator, Efren Penaflorida triumphed over nine other finalists to be proclaimed CNN Hero of the Year last November 22, 2009 by US leading news corporation in a venue where Hollywood luminaries converge annually for the Academy Awards - the Kodak Theater and he is being watched by Hollywood celebrities such as Kate Hudson,Pierce Brosnan, Carrie Underwood, Nicole Kidman, Neil Patrick HarrisEva Mendes, Randy Jackson, Greg Kinnear, George Lopez and Julia Louis-Dreyfus and other stars as he receive his award. This is a welcome respite, a ray of light for the country darkened by the southern Philippines' Maguindanao massacre. He won a cash prize, a total of $125,000 plus a CNN plague. According to him, 90% of the cash prize proceed will be used to build a learning center in his hometown of Cavite City and 10% will go to the church. He won the accolade and admiration of CNN and people around the world who voted for him because of his cause championing children's education because he firmly believes in Jose Rizal's ideal that "children is the hope of motherland." He teaches the children along with his volunteers using a mobile makeshift pushcart wandering around different impoverished areas in southern Luzon and nearby National Capital Region, mostly out of school youth who have gone astray and had been a juvenile delinquent. He is admired and an inspiration to all because of his powerful influence transforming the lives of the degraded morals and virtues into a worthwhile youth of the future.
In his acceptance speech he said, "My message to children of all races, please, to embrace learning and love it for it will embrace and love you back and enable you to change your world. Each person has a hidden hero within, just have to look inside you and search it in your heart and be the hero the next one in need,."
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