Where do you look for heroes these days?
Today, they are no longer dressed in katipunero red and brandishing weapons of war as they charge through enemy lines. Modern day heroes fight modern day evils and adversaries with kindness, understanding, and forgiveness. Look closely: the hero you are looking for might simply be the girl next door, the kind man that offers you a seat on the bus ride home, or even the very face reflected back at you in the mirror.
This year, celebrate National Heroes Day with these everyday individuals who made extraordinary stories — and examples — of their lives.
Sister Marivic Sta. Ana
As a Salesian Sister of St. John Bosco for 26 years now, Sister Marivic is the prime mover in the development of the Laura Vicuña Foundation’s holistic multi-staged program called Journey of Hope, along with innovative and action-oriented programs and services. Her focus now is the Child Protection Clinic on Wheels, which brings preventive and protective services against child abuse, exploitation, and trafficking closer to high-risk urban poor communities. It currently aids nearly 2,000 children on average.
“I just fell madly in love; when you feel that you’ve been blessed with so much, how can you not give back? I can’t think of doing anything else but to give back. That feeling… I can’t explain it.” – Sister Marivic
Apl.de.ap
Through his Apl. de. Ap. Foundation, he started with small initiatives, donating books and computers to his former school, Sapang Bato National High School. The Grammy award-winning musician and member of the hip hop group The Black Eyed Peas has since gone national, launching his “We Can Be Anything†campaign in partnership with the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation (NCAF) that encourages Filipino youth to continue with their schooling and has pledged to donate classrooms to schools in need.
“When you become successful, it is not just money that makes you happy. I feel like that. I want to leave this earth knowing that I did something. I made a difference in someone’s life.” –  Apl.de.ap
Gerald Anderson
After pulling an all-nighter, Gerald woke up blissfully unaware of the rising flood brought about by the torrential rains of 2009’s Typhoon Ondoy. He then remembered his brother Kenneth who had ventured out into the rain hours earlier to visit a friend. Immediately confronted with raging flood waters a few feet short of his doorstep, he swam out into the murky waters, checked on his neighbors, and later assisted those who needed to evacuate onto a banana boat and pulled them to higher ground. He managed to bring both his brother and his friend back to their home.
“Yes, Gerald was singled out because he is a celebrity. But the fact that he chose to be actively involved and not just passively dole out a token check speaks volumes – what you do with your celebrity is a great responsibility.” – Cheryl Chan-Nolasco
Maruxa Pita
In 1996, Spanish-born educator Maruxa formally set up a foundation with friend Bishop Socrates Villegas and many others, naming their initiative the Makabata Foundation Inc. to emphasize their thrust of educating the poorest of the poor children. The program began with just a handful of street kids attending classes at Poveda College in the late afternoons when classrooms were vacant. On weekends, Makabata conducted feeding programs. In January 2001, the project moved to a multi-level building in Pasig City and had its own classrooms, a science lab, a computer lab, library, and even an annex building.
“You have to be creative. You have to look for different means. Because it’s not the finances that are the most important; it’s the education of the children. When I say education, it’s not only the intellectual; it’s not only the spiritual; but the inner person, their attitude.” – Maruxa Pita
Cris “Keszâ€
As the youngest recipient of the International Children’s Peace Prize, Cris “Kesz†is living proof of how a single act of kindness can move the world. Since he was seven-years-old, Kesz, along with the handful volunteers from his project Championing Community Children has tended to more than 10, 000 underprivileged children in Cavite City. Through his Gifts of Hope — small parcels that include, food, flip-flops, toys, and toothbrushes —  he showered them with affection. In his own small ways, Kesz gives them the chance and hope that they can rise above their circumstances, because, as a matter of fact, just a few short years ago, he was one of them.
“Whenever I feel tired, I remember the experiences of my childhood. That’s my motivation for helping kids now. Once, a kind-hearted person showed me love and changed my life. I hope I can be that too for other children. I am just paying it forward.” – Cris
Fr. Gerard Deveza
The blessings the then 57-year-old priest gathers from others are the exact blessings he gives to the 365 poor and deserving students of the Divine Healer Academy, a mission school in Cabid-an, Sorsogon that Fr. Gerard founded in 2003. He was set on sending just one child to school when the nun told him there were 24 other schoolchildren who would need financial assistance. The priest did not blink at the idea that he could send all these 25 children to school even if, at that time, he didn’t know where he would get the money for their schooling.
“Many of these children walk several kilometers from their home just to be able to go to school. Some cross rivers; others go through thickets before they reach the school. But they are always happy every time they arrive at the Divine Healer Academy.” – Â Fr. Gerard.
President Cory AquinoÂ
Named by Time Magazine as “Woman of the Year†in 1986, Cory Aquino was the first female President of the Philippines. This woman’s story meant two things for the Philippines: the dictatorship had finally ended, and that Filipina women, with Cory as proof, could now dream dreams that were bigger than ever.
“When the final moment does come, let not my loved ones grieve for long…” – President Cory Aquino in her prayer for a happy death, written in 2004
Efren Peñaflorida
As driven as he was to excel in his studies, 28-year-old Ef — who was CNN Hero of the Year in 2009 — found himself wanting to drop out of high school. He recalls that fateful day in the dark alleys on his way home from school when bullies, comprised of gang members and out-of-school youth, thought it would be fun to pelt the little boy with stones. It was then that Ef and his three high school friends decided to take matters into their own hands and formed the Dynamic Teen Company (DTC) in 1997. Since its birth, they have made a difference to more than 10,000 children by teaching basic education and hygiene as well as providing a sanctuary for children through their ingenious use of the poor man’s pushcart called the kariton.Â
“It was hard… You have to face the hurdles and the people who say a lot of negative things. It is hard to push change. Hindi talaga magagawa kung iisa lang ang kikilos, kailangan mo talaga magtulong-tulong. (It can’t be done if only one is willing to do the work; you really need the help of others.) No one is ever strong enough to do things on his own. One is never too ordinary to be a hero. You are significant and equally heroic.” – Efren Peñaflorida
