"When people regard me as a hero, I always tell them that they should look inside them too, because I believe that there's a hero inside every one of us and all we have to is just to open our eyes wide and feel what's going on.

Let our hearts be willing to accommodate the needy, the desperate and the hopeless simply by extending our hand to them, and there you will unfold the hero that is in you."

                                                - Efren G. Peñaflorida, Jr.

Efren Geronimo Peñaflorida Jr. is a teacher and social worker in the Philippines. He is the founder and head of the Dynamic Teen Company, which offers Filipino youth an alternative to street gangs through education, recreating school settings in unconventional locations such as cemeteries and trash dumps.

He was born the middle child of Efren Peñaflorida Sr., a tricycle driver, and Lucila Geronimo, a housewife. The family eventually started a small noodle business to make ends meet. Efren grew up in an urban slum near an open dump site, playing amongst garbage and swimming in polluted waters. He would often fall victim to neighborhood bullying.

Peñaflorida completed his elementary and high school education through the help of scholarships and financial assistance, and received several class awards and honors. In 2000, he graduated from San Sebastian College - Recoletos with a degree in computer technology, receiving highest honors. He pursued a second course at Cavite State University, graduating cum laude in 2006 with a degree in Secondary Education.

At 16 years old, Peñaflorida started a youth group in his high school aimed at diverting students attention away from street gangs, and towards community activism and personal development. Joined by other classmates, they named the group "Dynamic Team Company".

Peñaflorida was nominated for CNN Heroes by Club 8586, the youth group that financed his elementary and high school education. After sifting through 9,000 nominees from over 100 countries, CNN's Blue Ribbon Panel selected Peñaflorida as one of its 28 heroes of 2009. On October 1, Peñaflorida was named among the ten finalists. On November 22, he was named CNN Hero of the Year for 2009. The award includes $100,000 cash to continue his work with Dynamic Teen Company.

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/star/

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/