Efren Peñaflorida Jr. : 2009 CNN Hero's Life Verse

Efren Geronimo Peñaflorida Jr. was awarded the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year was born on March 5, 1981 and received the award on November 22, 2009 with a bounty of $100,000 in cash. He was born the middle child of Efren Peñaflorida Sr. a tricycle driver and Lucila Geronimo, a housewife. He grew up in a slum area in Cavite. He is one of World Vision's sponsored children during his early childhood. In 1997, at 16 he started a youth group in high school aimed at diverting students attention away from street gangs, and towards community activism and personal development, they named the group The Dynamic Teen Company. DTC pioneered the idea of "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. Efren shares, “Our goal (in DTC is) to make a small yet significant difference in our campus, in our families, and in our community.”

Eften received nationwide popularity after he was awarded as the the winner, although well known personality he still continues to humbles himself and despite some trials that he have encountered he keep on holding on the his life verse.

 Efren holds on to 1 Timothy 4:12 as his personal life verse.

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”

The money he received will divide into two 90% to the DTC and 10% to the Church he is attending to. As a Christian  he continues to shines whatever achievements he has right now. During the Every Nation 2010 he was invited also as one of the speakers of the event attended by different Christian Churches in the world and hosted by Victory Christian Fellowship.

Our hero and fellow Christian statement during the awarding ceremonies will continue to inspire each and every one of us. GOD BLESS YOU.

 "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."