By Angelo S. Samonte Reporter

President Gloria Arroyo on Friday morning conferred the Order of Lakandula on CNN Hero of the Year Efren Peñaflorida in Malacañang.

The award is given only to civilians who have distinguished themselves through exemplary work that benefits a great number of people and their communities.

Peñaflorida said that the award was an affirmation of the volunteer work that he and his fellow “pushcart” teachers had rendered to help educate poor young people. He added that their kariton (pushcart) classroom program does not only teach children how to read and write but also imparts good moral values and encourages personal hygiene.

He teaches in a public school in his native Cavite province, south of Manila, from Monday to Friday to support himself. On Saturdays, he pushes the cart, which contains educational materials, playthings and food, to poor areas to teach children there from age 4 and teenagers.

President Arroyo expressed her admiration for Penaflorida, his mother, his Dynamic Team Co. (DTC) mentor and his fellow volunteer-teachers “for your dedication in helping your less fortunate brothers and sisters who need to learn new skills they need in life.” DTC is the name that he and the other volunteers call their group of pushcart educators.

‘Kariton’ classroom

The President also gave Peñaflorida financial assistance to help him fund his initiatives.

She ordered Education officials to find out how the “kariton classrooms,” for which project Peñaflorida won the CNN Hero of the Year award, could be replicated in Metro Manila, “where there is a high nonparticipation rate of youth in schools and learning.” Mrs. Arroyo then asked Peñaflorida to help implement this project.

Peñaflorida, in turn, proposed that colleges and universities urge their students to volunteer as tutors to out-of-school youth.

He said that the number of his pushcart-classroom volunteer teachers had grown from 20 to 200. Today, the CNN hero added, the program teaches more than 2,500 students every Saturday.

“We are not governed by a curriculum. We are not an alternative teaching program. We teach primary children, ages 4 to those in their teens, who have lost interest in school for one reason or another,” Peñaflorida told the President.

The success of the program depends on the number of student volunteers it gets, he said, adding that the more volunteers, the more young people the program can reach.