Efren Peñaflorida CNN Hero 2009

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.

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. Vote now for the CNN Hero of the Year

“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.” continue Efren Peñaflorida CNN Hero 2009

Vote for Efren Peñaflorida CNN Hero 2009

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/03/05/heroes.efren.penaflorida/index.html

Apl. de. Ap - Allan Lindo Pineda
Black Eyed Peas

Allan Pineda Lindo, (born November 28, 1974) better known by his stage name apl.de.ap, is a Filipino-American hip hop musician, record producer and is best known as a member of the Black Eyed Peas.

Apl.de.ap was born in Sapang Bato, Angeles City, Pampanga, in the Philippines, to a Filipino mother and an African American father. His father, a U.S. airman stationed at Clark Air Base, abandoned the family shortly after his birth; his mother Cristina Pineda raised Apl and his six younger siblings as a single mother. Two of his siblings are deceased: his younger brother Arnel committed suicide. His youngest brother, Joven Pineda Deala, was murdered at the age of 22 in February 2009 in Porac, Pampanga.

As a child, Apl would make an hour-long jeepney trip to and from school, and helped his family subsist by farming sweet potatoes, corn, sugar cane and rice. The Pearl S. Buck Foundation, an organization that finds healthier living environments for young abandoned or orphaned Amerasian children, matched him with a sponsor named Joe Ben Hudgens through a dollar-a-day program. He initially came to the United States at the age of 11 to treat nystagmus, an involuntary movement of the eyes. During a trip to Disneyland, Apl expressed his interest in staying in the United States. It would take another three years for Hudgens to officially adopt him, but at fourteen he moved permanently to the United States to live with Hudgens.

In Los Angeles, he attended John Marshall High School and he met will.i.am, the nephew of Hudgens’ roommate. He also spent two years at Curie High School in Chicago, Illinois. He stated in an interview that Chicago “is where he started to love music and get involved” and said that he still “goes and visits at times.”

Apl’s early musical influences were Stevie Wonder, The Eagles, The Beatles, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Leaders of the New School and the popular Filipino rock/folk group, Asin. Apl was introduced to hip-hop by break dancing. “I would take the jeepney all the way to Angeles City, and that’s how I got introduced to break dancing,” he said. “I would see kids at the corner break-dancing and I’m like, ‘I wanna do that.’”

Career

He and will.i.am formed a break-dancing crew called Tribal Nation and performed regularly at Southern California parties and events. From 1992-1995, their crew was re-named Atban Klann (ATBAN stands for “A Tribe Beyond a Nation”) and included MC Mookie Mook, performer Dante Santiago and producer DJ Motiv8. Atban Klann was eventually signed onto Eazy-E’s label, Ruthless Records but Eazy-E’s death put an end to their debut album Grass Roots.

Apl has brought his Filipino culture into his collaboration with the Black Eyed Peas. He explains his life story in a song called “The Apl Song” on the Peas’ 2003 album Elephunk, which includes a full chorus in Tagalog sampled from the Asin song “Balita.” The accompanying video, which includes cameos by fellow Filipino-Americans Dante Basco and Chad Hugo, is also a tribute to the Filipinos who fought for the U.S. in World War II; the song reached number one in the Philippines.

“Bebot” (which is Filipino slang for pretty woman) is another all-Tagalog song on 2005’s Monkey Business album. A music video for “Bebot” was filmed in and around Los Angeles in early July 2006, including in Kenneth Hahn Park, where Dr. Dre’s “Nuthin’ but a “G” Thang” video was also filmed; the video features primarily Filipinos, Filipino Americans and other Asian-Americans from the Los Angeles area. The video was directed by Patricio Ginelsa who also directed “The Apl Song” and produced the Filipino-American coming of age movie The Debut.The single was not released in the US but was in the Philippines and several other Asian countries.

Apl.de.ap is working on a solo album. He recently disclosed in an interview that he would be collaborating with fellow Filipino-American Chad Hugo of The Neptunes and Illmind from G-Unit to incorporate traditional Filipino instruments into his songs.[3] Some of his songs are uploaded on his MySpace page. On January 3, 2009, he debuted the first single, You Can Dream featuring Billy Crawford, from his upcoming album on the internationally broadcast Philippine variety/game show Wowowee. In August, he released a music video for his second single named Mama Filipina.

Apl.de.ap started the Apl Foundation. It is committed in giving back to communities and children within the Philippines and throughout Asia. He also started his own music company called Jeepney Music, Inc. It is currently based in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California. It currently handles DJs such as Free School, DJ Rockyrock, DJ MIA, and PoetNameLife.

Apl.de.ap recorded another tagalog song for Black Eyed Peas’ fifth studio album, “The E.N.D.”, the song is called “Mare”. In 2009, he also had a song entitled “Take You to The Philippines” that is hitting the airwaves in the Philippines. The song is in partnership with the Department of Tourism of the Philippines.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apl.de.ap
photo source :http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/35523827/Apldeap+blackeyedpeasallanpinedaakaapl.jpg