Program Note: Tune in tonight for special coverage of World Refugee Day tonight at 10 p.m. ET. And learn more about how you can help by visiting Impact Your World.

Academy Award-winner Susan Sarandon nominated Rose Mapendo as a CNN Hero.

Mapendo, a Tutsi, survived 16 months of harrowing atrocity in a Congolese death camp with her children before their life-saving rescue and resettlement.

Her journey ultimately led to her collaborative establishment of Mapendo International, a nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying, saving and resettling endangered refugees.

“She’s the story of the power of forgiveness,” says Sarandon.

Program Note: CNN Heroes received nearly four thousand submissions from 75 countries. A Blue Ribbon Panel selected the Top 10 CNN Heroes for the year, and over 1 million of you voted for your CNN HERO OF THE YEAR

WATCH CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE
A Global Celebration: Thanksgiving Night at 9p ET


____________________________________________________________________

Liz McCartney is dedicated to helping Hurricane Katrina survivors in St. Bernard Parish, a community outside New Orleans.

James Mister
Nominated Liz McCartney | HER STORY

I first met Liz at Camp Hope… The volunteer base camp in Violet Louisiana.

I was volunteering as Camp Chef and a mutual friend introduced us. I had already heard about Liz and Zack and knew that they had given up their comfy lives in D.C. to come back to NOLA and start The St. Bernard Project.

Needless to say I was very impressed and felt honored to meet such a person. To be there and see the dedication and hard work that Liz and her crew put in day after day is truly inspiring.

These people are Saints. They help primarily the poor and the elderly, always treating them with love and compassion. They put the welfare of others before their own. They are largely responsible for me staying 9 months longer than I had planned.

Upon my return to California I noticed the CNN Heroes segment and immediately thought of Liz.

Keep reading

Program Note: CNN Heroes received nearly four thousand submissions from 75 countries. A Blue Ribbon Panel selected the Top 10 CNN Heroes for the year, and over 1 million of you voted for your CNN HERO OF THE YEAR

WATCH CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE
A Global Celebration: Thanksgiving Night at 9p ET


____________________________________________________________________

David Puckett's PIPO Missions brings prosthetic and orthotic care to people of southeastern Mexico - free of charge.

Dale Parker
Nominated David Puckett | HIS STORY

Thank you and CNN for allowing us the opportunity to let the world know that there are such great, giving and caring individuals such as the person I nominated-David Puckett!

I nominated David because of his hard work and dedication to such a much needed program that he created in Mexico. I came to work for David in 2005. Since the day I started work for David, his mission program has been a inspiration to me and each employee that works and has worked for David.

I have never had the opportunity to go on a mission trip with David but to be able to be part of what he does and the compassion and hard work that he puts into each and every othotic or prosthetic device that he creates is such a chilling experience.

When I first found out that David was one of the “top 10″ I just started crying… To know that he had been chosen for such an honor was truly unbelievable and to know that I had helped him in such a way that I probably never could have otherwise was such a blessing to me.

Keep reading

Program Note: CNN Heroes received nearly four thousand submissions from 75 countries. A Blue Ribbon Panel selected the Top 10 CNN Heroes for the year, and over 1 million of you voted for your CNN HERO OF THE YEAR

WATCH CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE
A Global Celebration: Thanksgiving Night at 9p ET


____________________________________________________________________

Phymean Noun offers children who work in Phnom Penh's trash dump a way out through free schooling and job training.

First I would like to express my gratitude to CNN for the great exposure and recognition you give to those ordinary people who truly make a difference in our lives. Yes, I am extremely happy and proud to have nominated Phymean Noun to be one of your heroes and know that she has made it to the top 10 finalists of 2008. She is definitely my hero. As an Adult ESL Instructor working for Toronto District School Board for the last 17 years, I usually come across many interesting people from different cultures with great stories to tell and I just listen.

Phymean impressed me the most because of the extraordinary challenge she had to face at an early age. Her courage and persistence are amazing. Despite the hardship she went through as a child growing up in Cambodia during and after the war, and despite the loss of her only companion, her mother, to cancer at the age of 15, she kept going. She tried so hard to finish her school, look after her niece and then get a job. But then her amazing compassion on those children who live on garbage dumps and her determination to save them from the heaps of garbage and provide them with education, housing and health care has made her an instant hero to me.

I was really struck by her vision and by her powerful spirit that is gentle yet strong enough not to let circumstances rule out her destiny. I had to step in and give a hand and the rest is history.

Program Note: CNN Heroes received nearly four thousand submissions from 75 countries. A Blue Ribbon Panel selected the Top 10 CNN Heroes for the year, and over 1 million of you voted for your CNN HERO OF THE YEAR

WATCH CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE
A Global Celebration: Thanksgiving Night at 9p ET


____________________________________________________________________

Meeting Viola Vaughn was a transformational moment for me. It was in 2006 when I was teaching at a small university in Senegal, where Viola was already something of a local legend. I, meanwhile, was becoming disillusioned about “making a difference” in Africa, amid all the bad news and charges of waste, incompetence and corruption. I was eager to meet someone who was known for having real impact, helping thousands of local girls to stay in school longer, and to acquire employment skills.

The first thing I noted about Viola was her radiance… immense charisma and presence… in a petite grandmother… dazzling smile, gorgeous African clothing, aura of absolute serenity and faith. Viola is proof that anything is possible, and everything will always be OK.

The second thing I noticed was the exquisite quality of the pastries she brought to our meeting, made to international standards, by the rural African girls in her pastry shop. This was my introduction to one of several businesses Viola had started to provide modern, functional work and training for “her” girls, as well as income for her 10,000 Girls program. Viola is a social entrepreneur who has created a sustainable education and training program to raise the standard of living for hundreds of African families, without the slightest compromise in quality and rigor.

Keep reading

Program Note: CNN Heroes received nearly four thousand submissions from 75 countries. A Blue Ribbon Panel selected the Top 10 CNN Heroes for the year, and over 1 million of you voted for your CNN HERO OF THE YEAR

WATCH CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE
A Global Celebration: Thanksgiving Night at 9p ET


____________________________________________________________________

Carolyn LeCroy started the Messages Project to help children stay connected with their incarcerated parents.

My initial response on learning Carolyn was chosen for the first round of heroes wasn’t surprise. I have been with her on a few of the taping sessions in the prisons and have always come away feeling fortunate to have been able to drive a couple hundred miles to a prison out in the countryside somewhere, schlep boxes of tapes, mike wires, cameras etc. in an out through security, and help a little bit in letting those inside express the humanity we all share to their families. It’s a moving experience.

The most important thing to me about her choice both times was the thought that it would help to get two messages across to the rest of the country:

• The hidden effect of our rush to put people in prison in this society, most of them for drug related offenses, is the population of 2 plus million children with incarcerated parents, and the tremendous burden that puts on them to succeed against already difficult odds. They have a much higher chance of ending up in jail themselves.

• The overcoming of our stereotypes of prisons and the people in them. In my experience, most of them are people just like the rest of us. Their hearts and humanity may have been crusted over by the demands of their environment, but when you give them permiission to put that aside for the benefit of their children and families you find men and women who speak very eloquently in their own ways to what we all need and want as members of society.

Keep reading

Program Note: CNN Heroes received nearly four thousand submissions from 75 countries. A Blue Ribbon Panel selected the Top 10 CNN Heroes for the year, and over 1 million of you voted for your CNN HERO OF THE YEAR

WATCH CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE
A Global Celebration: Thanksgiving Night at 9p ET


____________________________________________________________________

Ethiopia native brings free public libraries and literacy programs to thousands of children in his homeland.

Janet Lee
Nominated Yohannes Gebregeorgis | HIS STORY

The nomination of Yohannes Gebregeorgis as a 2008 CNN Hero has been over thirty years in the making. Although I have only met Yohannes twice, I feel that I have known him my entire life, for I am a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Ethiopia, serving from 1974-76. During that time I taught English in a remote village where my students would sit four or five to a desk and share a single textbook. There were far more boys than girls because of the distances that the students needed to travel and the perceived need to keep the girls sheltered and closer to home.

Shortly after my arrival, the government was overthrown. By chance, I was in Addis Ababa and watched as Emperor Haile Selassie left a church, perhaps with a premonition of what was to come. The next day, it was over. Thousands of young men filled the streets chanting and for a short time I felt relatively invisible. I was not fearful, but that could not be said for many Ethiopians.

Reports from the BBC and the Voice of America reported daily of imprisonments and executions. It is entirely possible that Yohannes’ and my paths crossed during that time. Perhaps we shared a taxi ride, or had tea in the same bar, or stood in line at the post office, or ate ‘Injera and Wat’ at the same restaurant. I returned to the tranquility of my remote village and Yohannes feared for his life.
Keep reading

Program Note: CNN Heroes received nearly four thousand submissions from 75 countries. A Blue Ribbon Panel selected the Top 10 CNN Heroes for the year, and over 1 million of you voted for your CNN HERO OF THE YEAR

WATCH CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE
A Global Celebration: Thanksgiving Night at 9p ET


____________________________________________________________________

Anne Mahlum used to run by homeless men each day. Now, she's running with them in an effort to get them back on their feet.

I am Anne Mahlum’s mother. Last fall I was watching the CNN televised award ceremony for the 2007 heroes. I was really impressed with the people CNN honored. My daughter had recently started her non-profit “Back On My Feet” in Philadelphia and I thought I would nominate her, even though as her mother, I’m probably a bit biased in my opinion of Anne. So I took the time to write her story down and mail it off to CNN, thinking they’d probably never consider it, coming from her mother. (Don’t all mothers and grandmothers brag about their kids? Would you like to hear about my grandkids too? )

It seems like I am attending more and more funerals of my friends’ parents these days. I often listen to adult children say that their mother or father was their hero, but they didn’t often realize this until much later in life. I feel very blessed in that I can say, my mother and my daughter, are two of my heroes. My mother was never one to say “I Love You” or ” I’m proud of you” out loud. I think it was part of that generation’s feeling that those types of feelings were not shared out loud You were just supposed to know that somehow. But on my mother’s death bed 5 years ago, she opened her eyes and looked at me and finally said, “I’m so proud of what you do, how you live your life, and how you’ve raised good kids.” So I try hard to tell my own kids often, how proud I am of them.

Keep reading

Program Note: CNN Heroes received nearly four thousand submissions from 75 countries. A Blue Ribbon Panel selected the Top 10 CNN Heroes for the year, and over 1 million of you voted for your CNN HERO OF THE YEAR

WATCH CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE
A Global Celebration: Thanksgiving Night at 9p ET


____________________________________________________________________

Maria Ruiz of Texas regularly crosses the border into Mexico with food, clothing and toys for impoverished families.

Sandra Horine
Nominated Maria Ruiz | HER STORY

After visiting Maria and her family in January, I was struck by their simple way of life and priority of serving others…they had no thought for themselves. Maria’s husband worked two jobs to support their work in Mexico. They have gone without health care and other things that we take for granted. Maria, on her own, had created this feeding center where she fed 1200 children per day. I wouldn’t even attempt something like that unless I knew I had the right support and that I would be successful…Maria just knew there was a need and went to fill it without listening to the fact that what she wanted to do was just about impossible. Maria and her family changed the way I look at my life.

I submitted her name to the CNN Heroes because I wanted more people to hear her story. I hoped that more people would be inspired to make a difference with what they have, where they are. That is what Maria did. She did not wait until she had all the answers; she stepped forward and met needs. We can all do that in the corners that we live…we simply need to open our eyes, our ears and hands.

People like Maria are giving their all, everyday and giving everything from what little they may have.

Keep reading

Program Note: CNN Heroes received nearly four thousand submissions from 75 countries. A Blue Ribbon Panel selected the Top 10 CNN Heroes for the year, and over 1 million of you voted for your CNN HERO OF THE YEAR

WATCH CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE
A Global Celebration: Thanksgiving Night at 9p ET


____________________________________________________________________

Marie Da Silva, a Los Angeles nanny, helps fund a school in her native Malawi for orphans of AIDS.

Marie Da Silva | MY STORY

I received the call from the CNN producer on my cell phone when I was walking down the street in Santa Monica. When he told me I had been selected as a winner, I was screaming and crying on the street. People stopped to look at me. A lady came up to me to ask me if I was alright. I told her I was happy.

I could not believe it because just a few hours later, that very same day, I was on my way to Malawi to open the new secondary schoolblock we have just finished building.

I am very honored to be among many great heros of 2008. This award allows me to put the spotlight on the AIDS orphans of Malawi and show the world how education is important for them.

The school I have built will house 160 AIDS orphans who were unable to go to secondary school and graduate to go to university. Education opens doors to a better future for them.

I am very thankful for this recognition as it has helped me provide what I truly believe in. Thank you, CNN Heroes.