Manila: In a bid to provide basic education to more urban youth, Efren Penaflorida, CNN Hero of the Year, will be taking his novel education pushcart to more areas in Metro Manila.
Penaflorida and his youth group, the Dynamic Team Company (DTC) were named by CNN as one of its 10 heroes in 2009 for their unconventional approach in bringing basic education to poor Filipinos and former gang members living in the slums south of the capital.
Ceremony
This time, with assistance from the Department of Education, Penaflorida will be providing not just education, but also basic social services to the youth and their families.
In a simple ceremony in eastern Metro Manila's Pasig City on Saturday, Penaflorida and Education Secretary Armin Luistro launched the K4 outreach programme which stands for kariton (pushcart) as klasrum (classroom) that also serves as a mobile klinik (clinic) and kantin (canteen).
When Penaflorida started his Kariton Klasrum initiative as a teenage street urchin 16 years ago, his tools for instruction consisted mainly of a pushcart where he stowed books, a blackboard, pieces of chalk and pens and paper.
