Heroes within

I do not usually watch Cable News Network. But one Sunday recently, as I was casually surfing through the channels looking for interesting shows, one segment in CNN caught my attention. It was entitled “CNN Heroes: Where Are They Now?” I don’t know how to explain it, but something about the title drew my interest. I put down the remote control.

Living in a world with so many limitations and challenges, a lot of people find ways to overcome issues. They veer away from what is normal and expected and do something about them. While most of us wake up every morning hoping to change our own lives, these extraordinary people get up so that they can change the lives of others.

Among those who were featured in the program were the 2010 CNN Heroes. There was Dan Wallrath, a Texas homebuilder who builds and gives away free homes to wounded veterans. Magnus McFarlane-Barrow, a salmon farmer from Scotland, started Mary’s Meals to help feed more than 580,000 children every day. When Somalia was hit by a devastating famine, he extended a helping hand. Anuradha Koirala, the 2010 CNN Hero of the Year, lives by the slogan, “Stop. Stop Selling our Girls.” She put up an organization in Nepal which aims to create a society that is free from sex trafficking.

In a span of five years, CNN was able to discover a group of ordinary people who lead extraordinary lives promoting extraordinary causes. They walk the street every day, just like everybody else, but they carry with them some great advocacy. Most of us put one foot in front of the other so that we can make something out of our lives. These people walk under the sun so that they can give others a life that is more meaningful and worth living. They saw problems. They found the solutions. They answered the call.

What makes them even more extraordinary is that they never seek the spotlight. But after a night of recognition, the world’s most celebrated people salute them and their causes.

They bring people together to a common ground, a common cause, and a common goal. They make themselves secondary to the needs of others. They give a face to humanity. They open our eyes to the fact that there is something we are missing, that there is a bigger picture behind the glitz and glamour of the world we know.

They do not ask for anything in return. They do not seek attention. Before CNN turned the spotlight on them, they were barely known to the public. What they do is offer themselves so that the time will come when people in need right now will have something to offer to the world in the future. They are instrumental in leading people beyond their traditional horizons. They are planted in all corners of the world, bearing different fruits, harvested by different cultures but rooted in common ground. They have the courage and humanity to help others. They feed the hungry. They give the homeless something they can call home. They bring education to those who can’t afford it. They safeguard dignity. They protect those who are not strong enough to stand for themselves.

These people have made a difference in many different ways. They make us think that if they could make such a big difference, what can people not do if they put their minds and hands together? Imagine what they can achieve together.

When he received the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year award for his kariton classroom, Efren Peñaflorida told a worldwide audience: “We are the change that this world needs to be.”

We really do not need others to tell us what we can do. We have the power to start something that can change even just our small corner of the world. Every scene that is played out in front of our eyes is an opportunity to let the hero inside of us out. We have within us the power to bring positive changes in the lives of others. Yes, we are the change. So let us be.

Louise Marie R. Mendoza, 17, is a BA public administration student at the University of the Philippines-Diliman.