Ivy Leaguer pushes Efren's 'kariton'

From CNN Hero in 2011 as exemplar of everyday people changing the world, Efren Peñaflorida along with his “Kariton Klasrum” was approved by a university in the US as a subject of study and immersion by one of its top students in International Relations (IR).



Brown University in Rhode Island offers an intensive course in IR, sending its students to countries in Africa, Europe and Asia to study and experience different unique social activity.



For 20-year-old Filipino-American academician and polyglot Marc P. Monsod, his assignment was the Philippines to study the admirable work of one teacher (Peñaflorida) who brought education to the streets – literally.



Marc said working with “Kariton Klasrum” (Classroom Pushcart) and Peñaflorida or “Kuya Ef” and the Dynamic Teen Company (DTC) was a wonderful experience that he would cherish for a lifetime.



The comely, eye glass-wearing Marc bade farewell last Sunday to the famous street educator and his group in Cavite with a sad heart as he would be leaving on Thursday for the United States to report to his university in September.



Brown University is one of the eight Northeastern US private institutions under Ivy League known for academic excellence, selectivity in admissions and social elitism.



Marc was taken in by Peñaflorida and the DTC as a volunteer leader when he showed up at the building a day after he arrived from the US on July 26.



He traveled from Los Angeles to Manila with his father, Godofredo, also known as Bong, a legal assistant of US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Regional Trial Council Office and mother Teresita, a Beverly Hills City staff assistant.



The loving and supporting parents accompanied Marc in all the sessions with Kuya Ef at the building. “Marc was touched and awed by the actions of Efren and the DTC for the underprivileged kids. He asked us to accompany him to Efren after the news that he was declared as CNN Hero was flashed on television in the US,” said Mrs. Monsod.



Peñaflorida and the DTC operate the pushcart-designed three-storey building on a 219-square meter lot in the area. The funds for the construction of the building, which cost P10 million, came from CNN prize money and donations from kind-hearted groups and individuals.



The CNN Hero has only fulfilled his promised that he would widen the scope of his self-pushed two-wheel classroom cart project for the underprivileged children in Cavite and elsewhere.



Marc’s father expressed admiration for Kuya Ef’s effort and became sentimental in recalling how Marc, as a kid, showed his penchant for teaching. “He (Marc) started to play a teacher at the age of seven,” said Bong Monsod, adding that having Peñaflorida as his son’s role model was a blessing.



In his last session day message, Marc vowed to share with others abroad what he learned from Kuya Ef and the DTC whom he adored so much since the Cable News Network (CNN) Hero and his “Kariton Klasrum” project were recognized worldwide in 2009.



“I’ll be missing you all. The days that we’ve been together, the sharing of thoughts, the learning and teaching experience will always be in my heart,” Monsod said in part as he reminisced his 25 session days with Penaflorida and his group at the so-called “Kariton Building” on J. Miranda Street in Cavite City.

BY ANTHONY GIRON