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We first heard of the inspiring story of Filipino 28yr-old, Efren Peñaflorida on tv a few days ago and we were so excited, we too want to meet him! We researched about his story and his team of teen volunteers and just recently joined the group on Facebook.

How amazing is Efren's way of making a difference in the lives of Filipino kids in Cavite? Truly a real-life young hero in our books and one that is a testament to proactivity and turning a simple yet brilliant idea into reality! In behalf of the Kids Ahoy community,

WE SALUTE YOU AND ALL YOUR EFFORTS AND SACRIFICES FOR FILIPINO KIDS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD!

This story is about love for country and Filipino children. This story is about hope, determination and empowerment of self to do something tangible for our country inspite of limited resources. Who says you have to be "all grown-up" to be able to help others? This positive gang of young Filipinos are breaking the mold by doing and working towards nurturing Filipino kids--- and thereby impacting the future of this country.

Read more about DTC at http://dynamicteencompany.org/

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Pushcart classes help break gang chain
Reposted below from CNN.com

CAVITE CITY, Philippines (CNN) -- At 16, Rhandolf Fajardo reflects on his former life as a gang member.

Efren Peñaflorida's Dynamic Teen Company offers Filipino youth an alternative to gangs through education.

"My gang mates were the most influential thing in my life," says Fajardo, who joined a gang when he was in sixth grade. "We were pressured to join."

He's not alone. In the Philippines, teenage membership in urban gangs has surged to an estimated 130,000 in the past 10 years, according to the Preda Foundation, a local human rights charity.

"I thought I'd get stuck in that situation and that my life would never improve," recalls Fajardo. "I would probably be in jail right now, most likely a drug addict -- if I hadn't met Efren."

Efren Peñaflorida, 28, also was bullied by gangs in high school. Today, he offers Filipino youth an alternative to gang membership through education.

"Gang members are groomed in the slums as early as 9 years old," says Peñaflorida. "They are all victims of poverty."

For the past 12 years, Peñaflorida and his team of teen volunteers have taught basic reading and writing to children living on the streets. Their main tool: A pushcart classroom.

Stocked with books, pens, tables and chairs, his Dynamic Teen Company recreates a school setting in unconventional locations such as the cemetery and municipal trash dump.

Peñaflorida knows firsthand the adversity faced by these children. Born into a poor family, he lived in a shanty near the city dump site. But he says he refused to allow his circumstances to define his future.

"Instead of being discouraged, I promised myself that I would pursue education," he recalls. "I will strive hard; I will do my best."

In high school, Peñaflorida faced a new set of challenges. Gang activity was rampant; they terrorized the student body, vandalized the school and inducted members by forcing them to rape young girls, he says. "I felt the social discrimination. I was afraid to walk down the street."

Peñaflorida remembers standing up to a gang leader, refusing to join his gang. That confrontation proved fateful. At 16, he and his friends "got the idea to divert teenagers like us to be productive," he says.

He created the Dynamic Teen Company to offer his classmates an outlet to lift up themselves and their community. For Peñaflorida, that meant returning to the slums of his childhood to give kids the education he felt they deserved.

"They need education to be successful in life. It's just giving them what others gave to me," he says.

Today, children ranging from ages 2 to 14 flock to the pushcart every Saturday to learn reading, writing, arithmetic and English from Peñaflorida and his trained teen volunteers.

"Our volunteers serve as an inspiration to other children," he says.

The group also runs a hygiene clinic, where children can get a bath and learn how to brush their teeth.

Since 1997, an estimated 10,000 members have helped teach more than 1,500 children living in the slums. The organization supports its efforts by making and selling crafts and collecting items to recycle. Take a look at the slums where Peñaflorida and his group spend their Saturdays »

Through his group, Peñaflorida has successfully mentored former gang members, addicts and dropouts, seeing potential where others see problems.

"Before, I really didn't care for my life," says Michael Advincula, who started doing drugs when he was 7. "But then Efren patiently dug me from where I was buried. It was Efren who pushed me to get my life together." Watch Advincula describe how he met Peñaflorida in the slums »

Today, Advincula is a senior in high school and one of the group's volunteers.

Peñaflorida hopes to expand the pushcart to other areas, giving more children the chance to learn and stay out of gangs.

"I always tell my volunteers that you are the change that you dream and I am the change that I dream. And collectively we are the change that this world needs to be."

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K4 Outreach Programs

Kariton Klasrum, Klinik & Kantin (pushcart school, clinic and canteen), K4; is Dynamic Teen Company’s effort to bring the basics of education, love for learning, food for the hungry and cure for the wounded. Some of them suffer maltreatment, abuse and abandonment. Every time they see the Kariton Klasrum, they run towards it like trucks of relief goods to a devastated and desolate community. What fill them up are not the food alone but the joy of teens telling them stories, fun learning of colors and crafts provided for them. Their healing are not merely from wounds being treated or health being restored but from the loving touch and mentoring being offered them by fellow kids who volunteered to bring back their rights as children, as human beings.

Saturday Schedules:

8:00 AM to 9:30 AM - Palengke, Cavite City
9:30 AM to 11:00 AM - Dumpsite, Cavite City
2:00 PM to 3:30 PM - Himlayan, Cavite City
3:30 PM to 5:00 PM - Badjao, Cavite City