Comments on: CNN Heroes http://jefmenguin.com/2009/10/cnn-heroes/ Inspiring People Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:21:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 hourly 1 By: Susan http://jefmenguin.com/2009/10/cnn-heroes/comment-page-1/#comment-716 Susan Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:47:58 +0000 http://jefmenguin.com/?p=3079#comment-716 About Efren Penaflorida About Efren Penaflorida

]]> By: Vince http://jefmenguin.com/2009/10/cnn-heroes/comment-page-1/#comment-602 Vince Sat, 12 Dec 2009 10:45:58 +0000 http://jefmenguin.com/?p=3079#comment-602 The Two Faces of the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year Award I join the global Filipino community in celebrating the honour received by Efren P. as CNN’s hero for 2009, an award that recognizes his unselfish efforts of educating kids in less privileged communities in Manila. Truly his activities are worthy of praise and continued support. In a world that has become so engrossed with “what’s in it for me?” and pre-occupied with irresistible desire to satisfy endless wants, the likes of Efren remind us to look beyond ourselves and appreciate the truth that there is more to life than simple hedonistic pursuits. Efren’s work and the recognition of such work remind us that life becomes even more meaningful when it is dedicated to serving the greater good such as helping those who are in need in the communities that we call our home. Whilst Efren’s work is not the panacea to the ills and shortcomings of the world, it is an attempt at doing whatever one is able to do to make a little difference in the world that we live in. However, the other face of this award is that it is also a global proclamation of the failure of the “Filipino family’, the ‘community’ and ‘government institutions’ in educating the young – the Rizalian hope of the nation or at least the thousands of children who roam, sleep, eat, play, and die in the streets so typical in many parts of the Philippines. Teaching kids basic literacy and numeracy skills and shaping their moral values start in the family. I can only speak for myself when I say that it is in my family that I learned alpha-numeric concepts through modeling as well as informal lessons from my parents and older siblings. More importantly, it is in the family that one develops the concept of right and wrong which then becomes the basis of the development of moral values that shape or at least influence one’s beliefs, attitudes, and behaviour. The community supports the family in child-rearing by providing the environment within which kids can explore, discover, rest, and play: the building blocks of healthy mental, physical and spiritual development. Government institutions such as the educational system reinforce the family and community by providing formal educational programmes that will prepare these kids to become productive and responsible citizens in the future. Kids are given ample opportunities to develop and challenge their scientific minds as they engage in learning in a formal environment. When there are children who are hungry, living, making a living and dying in our streets we all know that the family, community, and government institutions failed in epic proportions to meet the most basic needs of these innocent victims of a world gone mad. When we begin to entrust the education of children to a stranger with a pushcart parked by the footpath, we need to ask the question if we are really doing these children a favour? When children stay out of their homes either because they have none in the first place or their parents are dead-tired of working to feed a family of 10, we really need to think deeper if street-level education can make an educated citizenry. When children do not go to school because they cannot afford to do so or they need to work so they can eat or when their parents forbid them to go to school, we need to ask if pushcart education is the way to nation-building. We all know that the development of a nation is measured by the collective intellectual or scientific achievements of its people. Developed countries are rich not because they are endowed with abundant natural resources. Their development can be attributed to a well-educated population capable of pursuing diverse intellectual endeavors that push the limits of science through endless and painstaking exploration and discovery. I wonder if education from a pushcart will equip an individual the mental capability and tenacity to discover the vaccine for HIV, to search or develop alternative sources of energy, or to develop an indigenous treatment for dengue. In one hand, yes I celebrate Efren and his cause as well as other less-publicized programs of similar advocacies all throughout the country. On other hand, it makes me very sad for I believe deep in my heart that every Filipino child deserves the highest quality of education far more than a pushcart can offer. The Two Faces of the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year Award

I join the global Filipino community in celebrating the honour received by Efren P. as CNN’s hero for 2009, an award that recognizes his unselfish efforts of educating kids in less privileged communities in Manila. Truly his activities are worthy of praise and continued support. In a world that has become so engrossed with “what’s in it for me?” and pre-occupied with irresistible desire to satisfy endless wants, the likes of Efren remind us to look beyond ourselves and appreciate the truth that there is more to life than simple hedonistic pursuits. Efren’s work and the recognition of such work remind us that life becomes even more meaningful when it is dedicated to serving the greater good such as helping those who are in need in the communities that we call our home. Whilst Efren’s work is not the panacea to the ills and shortcomings of the world, it is an attempt at doing whatever one is able to do to make a little difference in the world that we live in.

However, the other face of this award is that it is also a global proclamation of the failure of the “Filipino family’, the ‘community’ and ‘government institutions’ in educating the young – the Rizalian hope of the nation or at least the thousands of children who roam, sleep, eat, play, and die in the streets so typical in many parts of the Philippines.

Teaching kids basic literacy and numeracy skills and shaping their moral values start in the family. I can only speak for myself when I say that it is in my family that I learned alpha-numeric concepts through modeling as well as informal lessons from my parents and older siblings. More importantly, it is in the family that one develops the concept of right and wrong which then becomes the basis of the development of moral values that shape or at least influence one’s beliefs, attitudes, and behaviour. The community supports the family in child-rearing by providing the environment within which kids can explore, discover, rest, and play: the building blocks of healthy mental, physical and spiritual development. Government institutions such as the educational system reinforce the family and community by providing formal educational programmes that will prepare these kids to become productive and responsible citizens in the future. Kids are given ample opportunities to develop and challenge their scientific minds as they engage in learning in a formal environment.

When there are children who are hungry, living, making a living and dying in our streets we all know that the family, community, and government institutions failed in epic proportions to meet the most basic needs of these innocent victims of a world gone mad. When we begin to entrust the education of children to a stranger with a pushcart parked by the footpath, we need to ask the question if we are really doing these children a favour? When children stay out of their homes either because they have none in the first place or their parents are dead-tired of working to feed a family of 10, we really need to think deeper if street-level education can make an educated citizenry. When children do not go to school because they cannot afford to do so or they need to work so they can eat or when their parents forbid them to go to school, we need to ask if pushcart education is the way to nation-building. We all know that the development of a nation is measured by the collective intellectual or scientific achievements of its people. Developed countries are rich not because they are endowed with abundant natural resources. Their development can be attributed to a well-educated population capable of pursuing diverse intellectual endeavors that push the limits of science through endless and painstaking exploration and discovery. I wonder if education from a pushcart will equip an individual the mental capability and tenacity to discover the vaccine for HIV, to search or develop alternative sources of energy, or to develop an indigenous treatment for dengue.

In one hand, yes I celebrate Efren and his cause as well as other less-publicized programs of similar advocacies all throughout the country. On other hand, it makes me very sad for I believe deep in my heart that every Filipino child deserves the highest quality of education far more than a pushcart can offer.

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