MANILA, Philippines?When they learned that their group?s founder, Efren Peñaflorida, had been chosen CNN?s Hero of the Year, leaders of Dynamic Teen Co. (DTC) were busy training new volunteers for its ?pushcart (kariton) classrooms,? the same work that gave Peñaflorida worldwide recognition.

Peñaflorida?s 20-year-old sister Glenis Mae was at the group?s office in Cavite City attending the training Sunday afternoon when she learned about the good news after checking CNN?s website.

In her Cavite home, Peñaflorida?s mother, Lucita, 48, had been praying and was overwhelmed on hearing her son had won.

?I was very, very happy. I kept jumping with joy,? she told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. ?The Lord heard my prayers.?

?We are very thankful that God gave us this blessing. I am very proud of my brother,? Glenis Mae said.

On Thursday, Peñaflorida, 28, flew to the United States to attend CNN?s awarding ceremony, being one of its 10 heroes for 2009.

He was in for a welcome surprise: He emerged as CNN?s Hero of the Year after seven weeks of online voting and won $100,000 for DTC, his 12-year-old group.

The DTC earned worldwide recognition for recruiting teenagers as volunteer teachers to street children in Cavite City. To reach the poor children, the group goes around the city pushing carts loaded with books, blackboards and other school supplies.

Emanuel Bagual, DTC chief executive officer, said the group?s newfound international fame had brought it many positive changes.

Before, DTC members had to sell old bottles and newspapers to earn money and sustain operations. But after DTC was featured in the media, the group started receiving private donations, enabling it to increase the number of its pushcart classrooms from two to four.

Replication

The sweetest recognition, however, came in the form of replication: Other youth groups in Davao, Metro Manila and Zamboanga approached DTC, asking permission to implement the project in their own areas, Bagual said.

One group put up a pushcart classroom in Kenya.

The DTC willingly gave the groups its modules, Bagual said.

Inspiring example

Glenis Mae said her brother, the middle child among three siblings, provided her with ?an inspiring example.?

?I was encouraged to join the DTC because I saw the good things that my brother was doing,? she said.

In an earlier interview with the Inquirer, Peñaflorida said his parents initially were not excited about his project, telling him he was just wasting his time.

But seeing the fruits of his passion, his parents became very supportive and Glenis Mae even became a member of the group when she was 13.

When she learned on Sunday that her brother had won, Glenis Mae immediately sent a text message to their elder brother Edgardo, 30, who relayed the good news not only to their parents but also to their neighbors.

Born to a father who worked as a tricycle driver and to a mother who supported the family as a laundry woman, Peñaflorida nearly had to drop out of grade school.

But he got financial support from Club 8586, a volunteer group based in Cavite City, and from World Vision, a group that matches sponsors with needy children.

Peñaflorida said he put up DTC as an expression of gratitude to the people who had helped him when he was young.

DTC first used a bike with a sidecar for its street classes, but once in a while, the tires would run flat and the chains fall off, so the group decided to use a pushcart instead.

Movement seeking change

Peñaflorida is also an endorser of Ako Mismo, a movement in the Philippines seeking change that should start with the individual.

He was chosen CNN?s Hero of the Week in March. CNN gets nominees around the world to be featured as a hero?an ordinary individual with an extraordinary impact?each week.

In October, CNN chose its 10 heroes from over 9,000 submissions. The 10 heroes, who included Peñaflorida, were selected by an elite panel that included former US Secretary of State Colin Powell, actress Whoopi Goldberg, media tycoon Ted Turner, singer Shakira, and Sir Elton John, the CNN had reported.

The CNN later opened online voting for seven weeks to choose its CNN Hero of the Year.

Bagual said DTC campaigned for Peñaflorida in Cavite City.

The group got ?vote pledges? not only from its over 2,000 members but also from residents in Cavite City.

?We gave out flyers and we visited computer shops. We asked computer shop owners to make the CNN voting site their homepage,? she said.