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Through his ‘kariton’ (push cart), he helps spread literacy to poor Filipino children. And because of his noble and honest mission, he was featured as a modern-day hero by CNN early this year.

Efren Peñaflorida, the young man from Cavite who reach out to children in slum areas and teach them reading and writing, with the help of his push cart has been included in 10 CNN Heroes of the Year.

Because of this, Efren will fly to Hollywood in November, where he and the nine other fellow awardees will be honored for making “extraordinary difference” in their countries. He will be receiving $25,000 in a star-studded gala event on the awarding night.

Aside from being included in the 10 CNN Heroes of the Year, Efren will have chance of being proclaimed as the CNN Hero of the Year, where the winner will be receiving an additional $100,000. The winner will be decided by online voting which already started last Friday.

Efren, 28, said he is sharing the honor of the recognition with the nameless other Filipino “heroes” who helped save lives in the recent calamity caused by tropical storm “Ondoy.”

“This is for all of us, especially for those who became heroes during the calamity. I am very sure we have many heroes in this country,” he said.

In the CNN statement, Peñaflorida “gives Filipino youth an alternative to gang membership through education. His Dynamic Teen Company’s 10,000 members have taught basic reading and writing to 1,500 kids living in the slums.”

Now, aside from teaching reading and writing, the Dynamic Teen Company is also helping in distributing relief goods to Ondoy’s victims in Cavite.

He was not aware of his inclusion in the CNN Top 10 and came only to know of it from his friends who saw the news on cable television. “We don’t have Cable at home,” he said laughing. “I am happy that we received this great news amid the calamities and the problems we are facing,” he added.

To help our fellow Filipino Efren Peñaflorida the CNN Hero of the Year you can go to CNN.com/Heroes and vote for him. The online voting will end on November 19, 6 a.m. eastern time.