PINK PEPPER
A pushcart of books: Efren Peñaflorida and the Dynamic Teen Company bring education to slum areas
The writer with Efren Peñaflorida.
blurb:
“We had a hard time during our first few years. We needed to bring noodles or bread so that the children will listen to us. There were times when they threw stones at us but we continued with what we have started.”
You know him as one of the 30 finalists of CNN Heroes, a search by the CNN Network that recognizes people who are making a difference in their unique way. He is Efren Peñaflorida Jr. of Cavite City.
Efren and his group pushes a “kariton” or pushcart in the slum areas of Cavite. Instead of the stereotyped contents like garbage, the pushcart contains books and other educational materials that are being shared to the children in these slum areas.
“I came from a poor family. My mother is a housewife and my father is a pedicab driver. I want to help others,” he told Pink Pepper during the sidelines of the National Volunteer Summit (NVS) at Guimaras where he was the speaker.
Kuya Ef inspires volunteers like himself.
The dumpsite was his playground. He faced problematic experiences while growing up here. He saw juvenile kids using solvent and who got into trouble.
Despite his impoverished life, Efren pursued his studies. He is intelligent and was able to finish college. Now a teacher, he is very aggressive in his thrust of helping others.
He formed the Dynamic Teen Company (DTC) last 1997. It is composed of young people who uplift the lives of children in slum areas through education. Their mission is to make a difference in areas that have no access to education, basic hygiene and even love from their families.
“We had a hard time during our first few years. We needed to bring noodles or bread so that the children will listen to us. There were times when they threw stones at us but we continued with what we have started. Running this noble project is not easy,” he said.
With some delegates of the National
Volunteer Summit.
One of their projects is the K4 (Kariton Klasrum, Klinik at Kantin). Here, teenagers who are into drugs and petty thieveries are reformed and become volunteers in the group. Their youngest volunteer is nine years old. These teens call Efren as Kuya Ef.
Their efforts won them the Gawad Geny Lopez Bayaning Pilipino award last 2007 and Tayo awards.
Efren said that it is okay for other groups to follow suit. “What's important is many will benefit from the effort,” he said.