This Side of Heaven... where angels love to tread!

I am not usually excited about any new technologythat comes out especially in its early stages of development.
However, this new technology called "Sixth Sense" developed by Pranav Mistry promises to bring more eye-popping and amazing applications of technology that only men of vision would ever thought possible. Wonder how many years from now before we see this on the streets? A year from now..... 2... 3???

CNN just culminated the awards night for 2009 Hero of the Year and this honor went to the Philippines, Efren Penaflorida. When Efren started this project years ago, there were no awards of this kind yet and now with this recognition, this truly is a testament that no good deed goes unnoticed.

It is no secret that my country, the Philippines, despite the fact that we have left the Marcos years behind us for 23 years now, we are still beset with problems of poverty, corruption, government ineptness, and instability. More than ever, the masses still has not stop taking into the streets their dissatisfaction with some of our government officials due to their blatant incompetence. There are some individuals who enter politics not because it was a venue for them to truly serve their countrymen but as a way to hold on to power, to stay in the limelight and sustain their popularity or for others as a means to make a living. From what I see on TV and read from Philippine newspapers online, the rallies have not stop and it still continues as a way to show our government their disgust and force government officials to make changes.

However, there were some individuals who also went to the streets hopefully to make the change that they wanted to happen but the way that they did this was to go around the poverty stricken streets of Manila. Instead of banners, flags and chants of protests , this group of street workers had their cart/s filled with books, papers, pencils, blackboard and other school supplies to bring a teaching environment to kids who would otherwise not have the opportunity to go to a real classroom due circumstances beyond their control.

It is true that learning does not only occur within the four walls of a school building but it can happen anywhere as long as you have a willing teacher and eager students. In this case, I am sure that the little children who have had this experience must have enjoyed the learning process regardless of where they get their lessons.

Efren Penaflorida and his group, the Dynamic Teen Company, took matters into their own hands with their pushcarts. Now more than ever, they will need our support so that they can go on with their work. We cannot rely on the government to sustain this project. Efren and his team did it on their own anyway...

The awards show will be broadcast on national television on CNN, November 26th (Thanksgiving day) at 9:00 PM, Eastern time.

Daughter Karrol is now also a contributing writer for a new online site called "AATheory". AA stands for Asian-American and this site was created by Ellie Lee (of Ellie Meets Talent), who together with other recruited AA writers, serve to feature and highlight Asian-Americans in their field of  greatness and accomplishments and bring them together in one online reader site. Check out AATheory's online presence and also one of Karrol's article on Justin Chon.

Anybody who has accidentally stumbled upon asian websites or blogs created by young asian teens would notice the cute factor and the almost narcissistic contents of their sites. However, as these young asians grew up especially those who are living outside of Asia, a growing voice of Asian-Americans or A-Canadians, or A-British and others, are getting louder, wanting to be not only seen, but most of all, be heard. And in light of this restlessness, the world wide web has served as the venue for our young kids to be noticed. Currently, the popularity and meteoric rise of Asian entertainers, most notably, those from Korea and Taiwan (in part due to the popularity of Asian dramas) has spawned the Asian craze. We should not also forget the contribution of Asian athletes that has brought admiration and respect for their accomplishments. Now it is cool for Asian kids to admire asian actors, athletes, singers, etc. embracing anything asian from food, to clothing, to Hello Kitty (& other new toy characters), to Manga, to Anime and so on and so forth.

Asian traditions and customs which were once disdained and unappreciated by the young ones is now gaining relevance and importance in an Asian's search for their identity, an identity which was never really lost or gone, but just hidden away, to be found in time when the individual is ready to embrace who they really are. And despite of the influence and confluence of two cultures in one's upbringing, one realizes that they can never escape their asian-ness.

There is a well-known adage that says "We must be the change we want to see in the world". Popularly attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, he did indeed embody the changes that he wanted to happen in his beloved India by his practice of civil disobedience through non-violence. In his lifetime and generation, he set the example for his countrymen to see that something can be achieved with enough determination, passion and love for one's fellowmen to bring about the needed reforms and give back India's autonomy.

In today's generation, the Philippines is also in need of a hero to bring the country forwards after it has suffered (and is still suffering) major setbacks for the last 2 decades or so. Emerging from this is an unsung hero who is doing his part in his own way and thought that the best way to make the poor rise from their misery is to educate them. Efren Penaflorida, who was by his account, also from the slums, had the background and the experience to practice what he preaches. Growing up, he realized that the only way out of his miserable life was for him to get an education. Now that he has somehow achieved his goal, instead of running away from his past and making a different life for himself, he, instead went back to the place where he started from with the intention of helping to educate the children in the slum areas who would not be able to get to a school at all. With his pushcart, he has books and other learning materials that he can use for teaching. To the skeptics, this must be an effort too minor to undertake that it isn't worth the time and effort..... but I am sure that for those children, who have not had the opportunity to step inside a school, it could have made a world of difference.

Efren together with a group of his friends who were committed to this idea formed "Dynamic Teen Company" and has made it their life's work and mission to provide the much needed education that would have alluded poverty-stricken kids in the slums if they didn't bring the school to them.


Because of this, CNN has recognized Efren Penaflorida's work and has been included as one of the finalists in the search for CNN Heroes for 2009. Anyone who believes in this worthy cause regardless of their country of origin is encouraged to vote and support this effort for this may be the start of a movement that could be applied not only in the Philippines but also to other countries with the same situation.

Voting for the CNN Heroes will be accepted until the 19th of November and the winner will be announced on the 26th, Thanksgiving day, at a special CNN tribute to be held at the Kodak Theater. Please vote and support Efren Penaflorida.