Showing posts with label Heroes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Heroes. Show all posts
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Model OFW families: Pinoys who invest remittances wisely
For promoting cooperativism and entrepreneurship, two families – one each from Batangas and Masbate provinces - were named model overseas Filipino worker (OFW) families for 2009.
Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said Saturday the winners of this year’s Model OFW Family of the Year Awards (MOFYA) are the Lubis family from Lipa; and Bello family from Baleno, Masbate.
Engineer Rodolfo Pita Lubis of Lipa, Batangas represents land-based OFWs, while Capt. Emilio Bajar Bello of Baleno, Masbate represents sea-based OFWs.
Roque, who conceived the MOFYA when he was still the head of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), said the Lubis and Bello families exemplify OFWs model families in the country who have demonstrated the best practices of OFWs and their families in overcoming the challenges of migration.
Lubis worked in Saudi Arabia for more than 30 years, while his family invested his overseas earnings in various agri-business enterprises that employ more than 200 workers.
The Lubises have also developed their first Gawad Kalinga Reunion Village where residents are given employment, livelihood capital, and scholarship for their children.
Also, the family planted more than 45,000 narra and mahogany trees as their contribution to the “Greening of the Environment."
Bello, on the other hand, worked as a seaman for almost 29 years starting only as ordinary seaman in 1971.
His family invested his overseas earnings in various agri and retail business ventures as well.
Upon his retirement in 2000, Capt. Bello started to engage in community projects particularly in sharing his expertise on food sanitation and entrepreneurship through the OFW chapter of the Baleno Fishermen and Farmers Cooperative.
The MOFYA is a search for families who have maintained strong family relations, properly managed the financial benefits from the OFWs’ overseas employment, have educational achievements and exemplary performance in their respective professions, and at the same time have a positive impact in the community where they reside. - JHU, GMANews.TV, November 28, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
OFWs who keep families together to be honored
MANILA, Philippines—Thirty-four OFW (overseas Filipino worker) families will be honored by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) on November 26 at Sofitel Hotel for their outstanding efforts at keeping parent-child relationships close despite at least one parent being away for periods of time.
The Model OFW Families of the Year Award 2009 (Mofya) shows that although long-distance parenting is complicated, family members can exert effort to guide behavior, affirm love and trust, observe family traditions, provide support, and otherwise keep the family together through various means like cell phones, e-mail, videos, and texts, said Owwa Administrator Carmelita Dimzon.
Labor Secretary Marianito Roque will announce two national-awardee families to be selected from the 34 regional-awardee families, one in the sea-based category and the other land-based. Special awards for outstanding achievements in community projects and entrepreneurship will also be given out. - Philippine Daily Inquirer, November 23, 2009
The Model OFW Families of the Year Award 2009 (Mofya) shows that although long-distance parenting is complicated, family members can exert effort to guide behavior, affirm love and trust, observe family traditions, provide support, and otherwise keep the family together through various means like cell phones, e-mail, videos, and texts, said Owwa Administrator Carmelita Dimzon.
Labor Secretary Marianito Roque will announce two national-awardee families to be selected from the 34 regional-awardee families, one in the sea-based category and the other land-based. Special awards for outstanding achievements in community projects and entrepreneurship will also be given out. - Philippine Daily Inquirer, November 23, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Filipino declared “Hero of the Year” by CNN
By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net
Posted date: November 22, 2009
MANILA, Philippines – For his innovative “Kariton Klasrum” (pushcart classroom) Filipino educator Efren Peñalforida has been awarded by CNN as “2009 Hero of the Year.”
Peñaflorida was awarded during the CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. He received his award from American actress Eva Mendes.
He bested nine other nominees from different countries for the Hero of the Year award. The nominees were initially selected by a panel of 14 “Blue Panel” luminaries but the Hero of the Year award is given to the one with the most number of online votes in the CNN Heroes website.
Peñaflorida would be the first Filipino to become a nominee of the annual CNN Heroes awards and the first to Filipino to win the top prize.
The project, already in its third year, is a a tribute by the international news organization to selfless humanitarian acts of individuals from different countries.
In his acceptance speech, quoted by CNN, Peñaflorida said: “Our planet is filled with heroes, young and old, rich and poor, man, woman of different colors, shapes and sizes. We are one great tapestry. Each person has a hidden hero within, you just have to look inside you and search it in your heart, and be the hero to the next one in need.”
"So to each and every person inside in this theater and for those who are watching at home, 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."
Peñaflorida will receive $100,000. This will be used to fund his work in the Dynamic Teen Company, a volunteer organization that he put up to conduct his “Kariton Klasrum” program.
Peñaflorida’s program conducts weekly visits to poor and underserved areas in Cavite, north of Luzon, to teach young people basic lessons in Mathematics, English, and Science using only a specially designed pushcart.
In a previous interview, Peñaflorida said he will continue holding weekly lessons and hopes that it will encourage other people to lend time to help others in need.
INQUIRER.net
Posted date: November 22, 2009
MANILA, Philippines – For his innovative “Kariton Klasrum” (pushcart classroom) Filipino educator Efren Peñalforida has been awarded by CNN as “2009 Hero of the Year.”
Peñaflorida was awarded during the CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. He received his award from American actress Eva Mendes.
He bested nine other nominees from different countries for the Hero of the Year award. The nominees were initially selected by a panel of 14 “Blue Panel” luminaries but the Hero of the Year award is given to the one with the most number of online votes in the CNN Heroes website.
Peñaflorida would be the first Filipino to become a nominee of the annual CNN Heroes awards and the first to Filipino to win the top prize.
The project, already in its third year, is a a tribute by the international news organization to selfless humanitarian acts of individuals from different countries.
In his acceptance speech, quoted by CNN, Peñaflorida said: “Our planet is filled with heroes, young and old, rich and poor, man, woman of different colors, shapes and sizes. We are one great tapestry. Each person has a hidden hero within, you just have to look inside you and search it in your heart, and be the hero to the next one in need.”
"So to each and every person inside in this theater and for those who are watching at home, 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."
Peñaflorida will receive $100,000. This will be used to fund his work in the Dynamic Teen Company, a volunteer organization that he put up to conduct his “Kariton Klasrum” program.
Peñaflorida’s program conducts weekly visits to poor and underserved areas in Cavite, north of Luzon, to teach young people basic lessons in Mathematics, English, and Science using only a specially designed pushcart.
In a previous interview, Peñaflorida said he will continue holding weekly lessons and hopes that it will encourage other people to lend time to help others in need.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Vote for Filipino as CNN Hero of the Year
Pushcart classes help break gang chain, cnn.com
Story Highlights
- Efren Peñaflorida was bullied by gangs in high school in the Philippines
- Now his Dynamic Teen Company offers an alternative to gangs through education
- Since 1997, some 10,000 members have taught more than 1,500 children in slums
Vote now for the CNN Hero of the Year
CAVITE CITY, Philippines (CNN) -- At 16, Rhandolf Fajardo reflects on his former life as a gang member.
"My gang mates were the most influential thing in my life," says Fajardo, who joined a gang when he was in sixth grade. "We were pressured to join."
He's not alone. In the Philippines, teenage membership in urban gangs has surged to an estimated 130,000 in the past 10 years, according to the Preda Foundation, a local human rights charity.
"I thought I'd get stuck in that situation and that my life would never improve," recalls Fajardo. "I would probably be in jail right now, most likely a drug addict -- if I hadn't met Efren."
Efren Peñaflorida, 28, also was bullied by gangs in high school. Today, he offers Filipino youth an alternative to gang membership through education. Vote now for the CNN Hero of the Year
"Gang members are groomed in the slums as early as 9 years old," says Peñaflorida. "They are all victims of poverty."
For the past 12 years, Peñaflorida and his team of teen volunteers have taught basic reading and writing to children living on the streets. Their main tool: A pushcart classroom.
Stocked with books, pens, tables and chairs, his Dynamic Teen Company recreates a school setting in unconventional locations such as the cemetery and municipal trash dump.
Peñaflorida knows firsthand the adversity faced by these children. Born into a poor family, he lived in a shanty near the city dump site. But he says he refused to allow his circumstances to define his future.
"Instead of being discouraged, I promised myself that I would pursue education," he recalls. "I will strive hard; I will do my best."
In high school, Peñaflorida faced a new set of challenges. Gang activity was rampant; they terrorized the student body, vandalized the school and inducted members by forcing them to rape young girls, he says.
"I felt the social discrimination. I was afraid to walk down the street."
Peñaflorida remembers standing up to a gang leader, refusing to join his gang. That confrontation proved fateful. At 16, he and his friends "got the idea to divert teenagers like us to be productive," he says.
He created the Dynamic Teen Company to offer his classmates an outlet to lift up themselves and their community. For Peñaflorida, that meant returning to the slums of his childhood to give kids the education he felt they deserved.
"They need education to be successful in life. It's just giving them what others gave to me," he says.
Today, children ranging from ages 2 to 14 flock to the pushcart every Saturday to learn reading, writing, arithmetic and English from Peñaflorida and his trained teen volunteers. Watch Peñaflorida and his group in action with their push cart classroom »
"Our volunteers serve as an inspiration to other children," he says.
The group also runs a hygiene clinic, where children can get a bath and learn how to brush their teeth.
Since 1997, an estimated 10,000 members have helped teach more than 1,500 children living in the slums. The organization supports its efforts by making and selling crafts and collecting items to recycle. Take a look at the slums where Peñaflorida and his group spend their Saturdays »
Through his group, Peñaflorida has successfully mentored former gang members, addicts and dropouts, seeing potential where others see problems.
"Before, I really didn't care for my life," says Michael Advincula, who started doing drugs when he was 7. "But then Efren patiently dug me from where I was buried. It was Efren who pushed me to get my life together." Watch Advincula describe how he met Peñaflorida in the slums »
Today, Advincula is a senior in high school and one of the group's volunteers.
Peñaflorida hopes to expand the pushcart to other areas, giving more children the chance to learn and stay out of gangs.
"I always tell my volunteers that you are the change that you dream and I am the change that I dream. And collectively we are the change that this world needs to be."
Want to get involved? Check out the Dynamic Teen Companyand see how to help.
Story Highlights
- Efren Peñaflorida was bullied by gangs in high school in the Philippines
- Now his Dynamic Teen Company offers an alternative to gangs through education
- Since 1997, some 10,000 members have taught more than 1,500 children in slums
Vote now for the CNN Hero of the Year
CAVITE CITY, Philippines (CNN) -- At 16, Rhandolf Fajardo reflects on his former life as a gang member.
"My gang mates were the most influential thing in my life," says Fajardo, who joined a gang when he was in sixth grade. "We were pressured to join."
He's not alone. In the Philippines, teenage membership in urban gangs has surged to an estimated 130,000 in the past 10 years, according to the Preda Foundation, a local human rights charity.
"I thought I'd get stuck in that situation and that my life would never improve," recalls Fajardo. "I would probably be in jail right now, most likely a drug addict -- if I hadn't met Efren."
Efren Peñaflorida, 28, also was bullied by gangs in high school. Today, he offers Filipino youth an alternative to gang membership through education. Vote now for the CNN Hero of the Year
"Gang members are groomed in the slums as early as 9 years old," says Peñaflorida. "They are all victims of poverty."
For the past 12 years, Peñaflorida and his team of teen volunteers have taught basic reading and writing to children living on the streets. Their main tool: A pushcart classroom.
Stocked with books, pens, tables and chairs, his Dynamic Teen Company recreates a school setting in unconventional locations such as the cemetery and municipal trash dump.
Peñaflorida knows firsthand the adversity faced by these children. Born into a poor family, he lived in a shanty near the city dump site. But he says he refused to allow his circumstances to define his future.
"Instead of being discouraged, I promised myself that I would pursue education," he recalls. "I will strive hard; I will do my best."
In high school, Peñaflorida faced a new set of challenges. Gang activity was rampant; they terrorized the student body, vandalized the school and inducted members by forcing them to rape young girls, he says.
"I felt the social discrimination. I was afraid to walk down the street."
Peñaflorida remembers standing up to a gang leader, refusing to join his gang. That confrontation proved fateful. At 16, he and his friends "got the idea to divert teenagers like us to be productive," he says.
He created the Dynamic Teen Company to offer his classmates an outlet to lift up themselves and their community. For Peñaflorida, that meant returning to the slums of his childhood to give kids the education he felt they deserved.
"They need education to be successful in life. It's just giving them what others gave to me," he says.
Today, children ranging from ages 2 to 14 flock to the pushcart every Saturday to learn reading, writing, arithmetic and English from Peñaflorida and his trained teen volunteers. Watch Peñaflorida and his group in action with their push cart classroom »
"Our volunteers serve as an inspiration to other children," he says.
The group also runs a hygiene clinic, where children can get a bath and learn how to brush their teeth.
Since 1997, an estimated 10,000 members have helped teach more than 1,500 children living in the slums. The organization supports its efforts by making and selling crafts and collecting items to recycle. Take a look at the slums where Peñaflorida and his group spend their Saturdays »
Through his group, Peñaflorida has successfully mentored former gang members, addicts and dropouts, seeing potential where others see problems.
"Before, I really didn't care for my life," says Michael Advincula, who started doing drugs when he was 7. "But then Efren patiently dug me from where I was buried. It was Efren who pushed me to get my life together." Watch Advincula describe how he met Peñaflorida in the slums »
Today, Advincula is a senior in high school and one of the group's volunteers.
Peñaflorida hopes to expand the pushcart to other areas, giving more children the chance to learn and stay out of gangs.
"I always tell my volunteers that you are the change that you dream and I am the change that I dream. And collectively we are the change that this world needs to be."
Want to get involved? Check out the Dynamic Teen Companyand see how to help.
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