“One can make a small difference that can change the world!”
#1 ONE is never too poor to think of ways to help others…
- A change-­‐maker immediately answers the call, takes on the task and lead the people to hope once more and dream again.
- Education is a powerful tool to solve pressing problems, to make one person productive and beneficial to one’s society and to have a purpose in life.
- Each one should use whatever gifts he has received to serve others.
#2 ONE is never too strong to do things on his own…
- Education and learning is not the sole responsibility of the school, but a concern of the family and society as well.
- Our role as adults, parents and mentors make a big difference in building our future and the future next to us.
- Our actions today will define the outcomes of tomorrow. When we all work together we can create a brighter future, not only for ourselves, but for the children and younger generation of the world who see in us their hopes and dreams.
- Find someone to help you help others.
#3 ONE is never too young to give back to society…
- Everyone can make a difference through their own little and simple ways, small but powerful.
- We can prove to the world that no age, gender, status nor experience will limit the capacity of a person to help.
- “Do not let anyone look down on you because you’re young…”
#4 ONE is never too ordinary to be a hero…
- We all cry for change! But we can’t change anything unless we fully understand that the change we seek should begin within ourselves.
- A changed mind and a changed heart can change this world.
- We can be mentors, teachers, “life-­‐savers” or heroes to the next person in need.
Efren Geronimo Peñaflorida Jr., is a teacher by profession and an advocate of education for disadvantaged children 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 acknowledged as CNN Hero 2009 - Hero of the Year.
-Dynamic Teen Company www.dtc.org.ph
In 1997, at 16 years old, Kuya F! as his volunteers and children fondly calls him, 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 Teen Company".
Dynamic Teen Company started as a friendship club of around 20 members, with an aim of providing youth awareness projects, talent and self-development activities, and community services. They collaborated with Club 8586, another community service organization operating in the area.
They eventually pioneered the idea of the "pushcart classroom" or the “Kariton Klasrum” 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.