VOTE FOR Efren Penaflorida – CNN Heroes

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We are asking for your support to vote for Efren Penaflorida – CNN Heroes.

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.”

To vote for Efren Penaflorida, please visit CNN Heroes website. Or vote using the widget below:

Voting continues until Thursday, November 19, 2009 (6 a.m. ET). There is no limit on the number of times you may vote for the Hero of the Year.