CNN Hero of the Year is a Pinoy

After Manny Pacquiao's 7 world title win comes another worth celebrating pinoy victory. Another first for pinoys...

Efren Peñaflorida, which I featured in this blog early this month, bested 9 other contenders from various countries. The pinoy who is famed for his 'Kariton Klassroom' was awarded the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year. This is the first time that a pinoy was chosen to be the ultimate hero of the year by the respected network. The award was presented to him by Hollywood star Eva Mendes at the Kodak Theatre last Saturday night. He was selected after getting the highest number of online votes. According to CNN, more than 2.75 million votes were cast for 7 weeks.

Pinoy CNN Hero

CNN Heroes. They are ordinary people with extraordinary impact. And one of them is a pinoy named Efren Peñaflorida. Through pushcart classes, he gave an alternative to gang membership.

His story reads:

Efren Peñaflorida gives Filipino youth an alternative to gang membership through education. His Dynamic Teen Company's 10,000 members have taught basic reading and writing to 1,500 kids living in the slums.

And he needs our vote to make it to the top. You can vote as many as you can. Click here to vote.