wun manong: 'Real men do not buy girls'

On Christmas eve, after the tedious preparation of my vegetable pica-pica for noche buena, I was busy with the TV remote control and accidentally chanced upon a show on CNN awarding this year's CNN Hero of the Year. 

Last year’s edition was a highly publicized event on Philippine media as last year's hero was a Filipino, Efren Peñaflorida, a ‘pushcart education’ innovator who brought education closer to the underprivileged children in the Philippines. With his Dynamic Teen Company, the organization reaches out to the out-of-school youth through pushcart classrooms complete with books and other educational materials. His innovation has prompted the Philippine government to replicate the model classroom to different regions of the country.

This year,CNN honored ordinary individuals with various causes that has changed a landscape in the world - from feeding the hungry, building bridges, medical assistance, empowering women, building houses, education and even weight loss. These heroes are everyday people working to change the world and this year's Top Ten Heroes are:

Guadalupe Arizpe De La Vega (Mexico) -providing quality health-care to the dangerous city of Juarez, Mexico with a hospital she established;

"Our hospital has not been touched. Our doctors have not been kidnapped. This is a miracle of God, believe me"

Susan Burton (USA) -giving ex-convicts a new chance to live;

"Every time I was released, I swore I wasn't going back. But I know now that without the resources and support, it's next to impossible. ... If you don't have a new door to walk through, the only thing is the old door."

Linda Fondren (USA) - helping shape up a city in the fattest state of the Unites States of America;

"People want to do good, but they need help" 

Anuradha Koirala (Nepal) -rescuing girls slavery and human trafficking;

"Families are tricked all the time. The trafficking of the girls is done by people who are basically known to the girls, who can lure them from the village by telling them they are getting a nice job. It's a lucrative business."

Narayanan Krishnan (India) - serves good food to India's most destitute;

"I saw a very old man eating his own human waste for food. It really hurt me so much. I was literally shocked for a second. After that, I started feeding that man and decided this is what I should do the rest of my lifetime."

Magnus Macfarlane-Barrow (Scotland) - launched Mary's Meals that provides meals for school children in Bosnia;

"We began saying 'Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could just do one small thing to help?'

Harmon Parker (Kenya) - building bridges for a safer Kenya;

"I've worked all over Kenya. And every community [has] a story of ... loved ones lost."

Aki Ra (Cambodia) - detonating landmines to save lives
"I maybe planted 4,000 to 5,000 land mines in a [single] month. We planted them all over the place."

Evans Wadongo (Kenya) - inventing an improvised lamps to light up lives and lift families out of poverty

"I couldn't compete effectively with other kids who had access to lighting. In every home in the village it was the same. Many children drop out of school for these reasons ... so they remain poor for the rest of their life. All along I was asking myself if there is anything that can be done to improve this situation."

Dan Wallrath (USA) - give free housing to war veterans with his project "Operation Finally Home" 
"It was like someone hit me upside the head with a 2x4. ... I just felt like this is what God wants me to do."

This year's honor was given to Nepali Anuradha Koirala. When her name was called, I felt magic when the presentor put her golden trophy in a box and it turned black. Amazing. And that's how a Hero was proclaimed.

In her speech, she encouraged everyone to help fight human trafficking. And most notably, Demi Morre who presented her during the show said...'real men do not buy girls'. And it felt like that was the call of the night.All stories were too inspiring that after the show, I asked myself "what can I do for the world". And I remember vividly, I may have said it to my wife...'someday, I'll make a difference with my blog'.