CNN Hero: Budi Soehardi

Program Note: CNN Heroes received nearly 9,000 submissions from 100 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 Change the World, You vote, CNN Heroes
Tonight 11 p.m. ET


____________________________________________________________________

[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/09/03/cnnheroes.budi.soehardi/art.budi.soehardi.jpg caption="Budi Soehardi poses with young residents of Roslin Orphanage."]

CNN Heroes

At Roslin Orphanage, children giggle through deep concentration as they try to master the "Chicken Dance." It's a far cry from the Indonesian orphans' earlier months and years.

"They are cheerful-looking and photogenic, but close to all have a very sad story," said Budi Soehardi, founder of the West Timor orphanage.

"Some of the babies come because a mother passes away right after delivery because of lack of nutrition. Others come from extreme poverty. Some come from families [that] just do not want the children and abandon them," he said.

Soehardi, a 53-year-old Indonesian pilot living in Singapore, and his wife, Peggy, look after 47 children at the orphanage. They have a personal relationship with each one, and consider them part of their family. The couple named many of the children since they entered the orphanage as babies - some of them tiny victims and refugees from the conflict in East Timor.

Keep Reading...

_______________________________________________________________________________________

To learn about ways you can make a difference, visit Impact Your World.