Rock Ed Philippines is by far the sexiest NGO in the country. It's the only NGO with a ton of volunteers who are high profile local artists and their events are often confused as rock concerts. As a founder of Rock Ed in 2005, Gang remains to be active in discussing important social issues with the youth (which aren't touched on in school) by hosting the Rock Ed Radio show on Jam 88.3. One of the 2010 The Outstanding Women in the Nation's Service (TOWNS) as well as a 2010 Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awardee, Gang continues to be a relevant voice (especially on Twitter: @gangbadoy) on social and political matters concerning the country
A health and parental rights advocate, midwife Robin Lim or "Mother Robin" to many, founded Yayasan Bumi Sehat (Healthy Mother Earth Foundation) in 1995 to fight the high morbidity and mortality rates of mothers and infants in Indonesia. Her health clinics offer free pre-natal care and other medical and birthing services to low-income Indonesian women. These efforts toward child birth have won her the 2011 CNN Hero of the Year title.
Everybody knows Gawad Kalinga. When Antonio "Tito Tony" Meloto founded GK in 1995, nobody really expected this community-development foundation to become this big, with now a grand mission to end poverty for 5 million families by 2024. Here's the thing: GK kinda wants your money. But more important, they want your time. Going to a GK build site has become a sort of rite of passage for a lot of the more privileged (and underprivileged) Filipino youth and many continue to do so today. Lifting bricks: beats the gym.
Today, Tito Tony has introduced the GK model to alleviate poverty to other developing countries like India and Columbia.
At age seven, Kesz was able to start his Caring Children organization that provides the basic needs of 10,000 street children, having been from a poor and depressed background himself. Now at 13-years-old, the Cavite-born is one of three that are nominated for the 2012 International Children's Peace Prize, to be awarded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu on September 19th in Netherlands.
Currently known for the "pushcart classroom" program, Efren and his friends started the Dynamic Teen Company youth group in 1997 to promote education in the slum areas of Cavite. Graduating from college with honors, Efren pursued with his advocacy, (taking Kesz Valdez under his wings in the process) which eventually earned him the prestigious CNN Hero of the Year award in 2009.
A true epitome of a Cinderella story, Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao's started with an underprivileged background that led him to boxing at a very young age. The achievements of the Gen. Santos-native in pro-boxing (and beyond) have had the Filipino masses look up to his rousing feat to success. Regarded as the World's Best Pound-for-Pound Fighter by several prestigious international sports bodies, Manny looks to remain as the country's national sports icon even if decades after his career has ended.
The late environmental activist, journalist, and politician Gerry Ortega DVM was assassinated on January 24, 2011 reportedly due to his anti-mining advocacy in Palawan. The vocal veterinarian, who campaigned for crocodile farming in 1988 for Puerto Princesa, became the project director for ABS-CBN Foundation's Bantay Kalikasan-Palawan that launched at least five eco-tourism projects. In January of last year, Doc Gerry spearheaded the Ten Million Signatures campaign after the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) approved of the large-scale mining in his province. He was shot in the back of his head later the same month. (Visit no2mininginpalawan.com for more info.)
Man's innate generosity and compassion toward one another have been proven over time, particularly during the natural crises that have struck the country as of late. Whether you helped out by untiringly taking part in the rescue and relief operations, disseminating urgent information via the social media, or giving donations in cash or in-kind, consider yourself a modern-day hero that no amount of idleness or cynicism could ever put down.
Here we go. Everyone knows who Jesse Robredo was: The caring mayor who personally swept the streets of Naga City in the wake of a Typhoon's destruction. The innovative multi-awarded public official who showed that yes, the people can trust its elected politicians to do the right things. The hardworking DILG secretary who pushed through reform even in the face of underwhelming political support. Yet Robredo won hearts through his down-to-earth demeanor, which saw him playing pickup basketball right outside his Naga home, and join crowds of trabahadors and simple farmers during the annual Peñafrancia fiesta. (Visit RobredoFacts.com for more info.)
-Rico Mossesgeld-