Discussion about entry: PEPY:Educational Volunteer Tourism changing attitudes in Cambodia & funding over $1 million for NGOs
This is discussion about PEPY:Educational Volunteer Tourism changing attitudes in Cambodia & funding over $1 million for NGOs.
Comments
Thank you Anna!
Thanks for noticing the questions we are asking. We weren't always asking them - in fact most of the questions we ask of the development and tourism industries now are from things we failed to notice with our first tours. There is a documentary film called "Changing the World on Vacation" by at deedaproductions.com which highlights a lot of the mistakes and lessons we learned at PEPY during our first year of operation.
Thanks for being a part of our team!
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Daniela Papi
PEPY Founder
www.pepyride.org
Thanks, Karina. The Paul Farmer comparison is surely over the top, but thank you for your thoughts! I have really enjoyed working with you on the Voluntourism Effective Practices initiative and am so grateful that you are putting so many of these ideas down on "paper" and spreading them out into the world.
I agree, our trip last week of university students from the U.A.E. was such a reminder of what voluntourism can be when tailored as an educational experience for the travelers. I put up my reflections from the trip here: http://pepyride.ning.com/profiles/blogs/a-trip-to-cambodia-from-the
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Daniela Papi
PEPY Founder
www.pepyride.org
Adam L - Thank you for your post! And thank you for volunteering to make www.pepytours.com - we are so grateful for all of your support for our work. We are loving the PEPY People Network as well as it is a great way for us to share information with trip participants: pepyride.ning.com - THANK YOU!
Dougald - thank you for your post! And congratulations to you for all of your fabulous work protecting Cambodia's heritage through Heritage Watch!
Chris - Thank you for the post, Chris, and thank you for following along with our work for the past two years since you joined us on a trip. We are welcoming another group from ND next month and are really looking forward to it! Thank you!
Christina - I am so glad that you and XOLA were inspired to get more involved in voluntourism over the last three years since we met. YOU are helping to improve the industry!
I am so touched that so many people continue to follow our work at PEPY long after they leave Cambodia. And even more delighted when they come BACK! Please do!
Thank GOODNESS you came back! Who would lead us in "Commitments and Goals" discussions on our tours if not you? Thank you for all you have given to PEPY for the last three years, Adam! I'm so glad that you made the move from a tour participant to a volunteer intern and that you have come back yet again to support our work. Lucky lucky us!
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Daniela Papi
PEPY Founder
www.pepyride.org
I think it's amazing that you are asking those questions.
Many people in the non-profit and for-profit world alike are not brave enough to ask the difficult questions that have potential to highlight issues or enact positive change. Bravery in this regard is not the absence of fear, but the acknowledgment of that fear and the decision to continue in positive and difficult directions in spite of that fear.
When you and I met those 5 years ago on the Bicycle for Everyone's Earth bike and we were both 2-3 years fresh out of college, and (looking back) quite green, neither of us had any idea of the paths our life would take (or the trajectory they continue to follow even now).
Meeting you then, I knew that your energy and commitment were infectious, but I never would have imagined that you and your colleagues would have been able to move to an entirely new country, create an organization from the ground up that employs numerous Cambodians in meaningful jobs, and supports thousands of Cambodian youth in their eager pursuit for education, all the while retaining your ability for self-reflection in the process.
That is why our paths have crossed again! Leaving the corporate office cubicle job I've done for the past 5 years in the states was the first step, arriving here at the PEPY office to work for free for the next 4 months was the second, learning about how to focus outward instead of inward is the next!
Keep up the work you do. It is good.
Thank you, Dougald! Is Heritage Watch entered on this site as well? We have loved learning from you and working with HW as you work to protect and promote Cambodia's local heritage. Thanks for all you do!
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Daniela Papi
PEPY Founder
www.pepyride.org
Thank you, Adam! We love PEPYTours.com - so thank you for volunteering to make that! Have you seen the updates to www.pepyride.org ? What do you think? Thanks for all you do!
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Daniela Papi
PEPY Founder
www.pepyride.org
Thank you for your questions, Dana. I have some long answers for you! Here we go!
Some of the dangers I see with school visits:
1)Child safety
2)Interrupting their education
3)Having foreigners come in to “teach” when they should be the ones learning about the new place
4)Taking time away from more important work to entertain the visitors
5)Giving “things” (like paper/pens, painting a fence, etc) when the real needs of the school might be teacher training, salaries, etc.
We used to do it all wrong. Our first trips, we would pop into schools and “teacher about the environment” when we knew little about the environment in Cambodia ourselves. We then began partnering with a local environmental education NGO to do similar visits, but then we still recognized that one-off trips into schools was not going to make much difference if our aim was impacting attitudes towards the environment. Now, most of our tours which involve any school visits are visiting schools which we partner with in some way. At those schools we support, our main focus is on teacher training and Khmer literacy, things which are difficult for short-term visitors to be involved in. Where are tours used to be designed around “giving” they are now designed around “learning”. Why limit tour “volunteer days” at any one school to three trips per year, though usually two, and integrate opportunities for the kids and teachers at the school to be the givers, not the recipients. Visits to The PEPY Ride School in Chanleas Dai might include a presentation from a computer class on their latest XO Computer project or English class presentations on rice harvesting or the highlights of their local community. The “giving back” portion is either a cultural exchange, though we have done less and less of those types of trips in recent years, or a physical project which we integrate the visitors into based on the needs at the time.
In otherwords, we don’t always say “we are going to be helping to build XX classroom resource center” 4 months out when someone signs up for a trip. Instead we say we will be helping out with the needs at the time, and if the needs at the time are re-cementing the shaded study area outside the school, working in the garden after the cows had broken in and destroyed the fence, or repainting a classroom, we will do that.
We make sure our visits have PEPY staff present at all times and are very monitored in terms of child-visitor interactions. During our school visit days there is typically 1 PEPY staff person at the school that day for ever 2-3 guests and guests and we do a thorough orientation about our expectations when visiting, being a role model for all other foreigners as their interactions with foreigners are very limited, etc. To avoid interrupting schools, our visits into the classrooms to tour is usually a short 1-2 hour stint and we find other ways to participate in our programs without interrupting as much. For example, we take 4th graders from our target area on an annual trip to see the temples of Angkor. We can schedule these field trips on the same days our guests are seeing the temples and, though they travel with different guides for language reasons, the guests can learn about our programs and be a part of an important moment in these children’s lives without adding additional days interrupting school.
We tell all of our guests that their impact is only partially in what they paint, build, repair, or teach on our trips. It is more in the funding the support to provide for the more ongoing needs at the schools (salaries, teacher training, etc) and in the work they help support with changing attitudes towards education. During our temple visits, when the visiting foreigners are paired up with student buddies during our morning introductions, part of the lesson they leave is “I am here because I believe in YOUR education, and I want to see YOU graduate from grade 6, and then grade 9, and then grade 12…” Those connections and personal acknowledgment of their belief in a child and his/her education is just as if not more important than the rest of their work.
Of course, in Cambodia, most of the decisions about staying in school are not based on a child’s desire to study or not, but a family’s need for their child to be home working. Guests who travel with us know that their funding is supporting PEPY’s programs which lower the barriers to entry in school and thereby help more students continue on further in their education than they might have otherwise.
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Daniela Papi
PEPY Founder
www.pepyride.org
Hi Dana -
I tried to answer your questions on here - and they were up yesterday, but it looks like they are not up anymore.... perhaps they were too long? They are all listed here:
http://pepyride.ning.com/profiles/blogs/pepys-geotourism-entry
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Daniela Papi
PEPY Founder
www.pepyride.org
I participated in a PEPY Ride trip a couple of years ago. Actually, I'm in that photo of all the people in front of the mural! I'd initially just wanted to go to Cambodia to see the Angkor Wat temples. But participating in the PEPY Ride program - actually getting to meet and help people in the local community - made the trip so much more meaningful and valuable to me. While I have great photos of the temples, my best memories are of working with the students and other volunteers to paint that mural and repair classrooms.
YOU are making a difference. Your work with the teachers in Chanleas Dai about literacy education, in fluent Khmer, was so impressive, they are still talking about it. Thank YOU for joining us and making our work better!
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Daniela Papi
PEPY Founder
www.pepyride.org
Thanks, Josh! You are missed! I hope your epic bike journey out of Cambodia and throughout Asia was fabulous! Thanks for being a part of our team! - D
We're honored that you feel that way! Thank you! Thanks for all YOU have done to improve the impact of tourism in Cambodia.
Best,
Daniela
Thanks, Peppi. You are missed! Sharing does rhyme with caring, and when you yell that out when you are about to be run over by a car while on your bicycle in crowded Phnom Penh, you know you must be a good person :-) (We miss you too, Shannon!)
You know as well as I do that a lot of our push to share what we have learned comes from Mickey and RDIC. I hope PEPY continues to honor him and his work in Cambodia by sharing the lessons we learn and helping other people and groups around us grow with us.
Thanks, Peppi! Come back please!
... around and training our team of PEPY librarians and others in the area, Kyla jumping into the team with new ideas and a eagerness to empower others to share their skills, Aim with HIS smile - my goodness he could light up Chanleas Dai - and his willingness to support all of the projects going on 7 days a week at PEPY, Saly/Noun/Sak making Khmer Literacy a priority in Chanleas Dai, our team of Child-to-Child educators who inspire children to be leaders in solving problems in their community, Joe/Bon making our office more efficient, Chanleas Dai's school cooks keeping everyone smiling, Thy's eagerness to learn and entertain, Sovandy stepping up to fight corruption and inefficiencies when he saw them, Aline teaching us how to run a better NGO, Meth/Kong taking care of us like family, the volunteer interns who have come out to join our team and give 6 months of their time to help improve our work like Anna who is making sure we say the right things and Katy who helps make sure our tours are life-changing.... and the rest of our 35+ staff who were each hired because they say things like "I love to learn" and "I want to support my country and my village" and then act in accordance with making those things happen - THEY make our work successful.
With them driving, how can we not be successful?!
We are looking forward to having YOU out here again some day soon! Thanks for the constant support!
Hi Daniel,
You're welcome. I hope that we'll meet at some time in the future. If you ever plan to visit Nepal, I'll be more than glad to receive you and show you some unique places. By the way, I do dream of visiting Cambodia, especially Angkor Wat. Let's see whether it comes true. :-)
Take care and keep in touch.
Navin M Shrestha
whl.travel MPO, Kathmandu - Nepal
www.KathmanduHotel-Link.com
www.PokharaHotel-Link.com
:-) Thank you!
I actively participated in PEPY for about two years. I can honestly say that this was one of the most significant experiences of my life.
Going to Cambodia will appeal to just about everyone because chances are it is unlike any place you have been. It has delicious food, rich history, and breathe-taking historical sites. In short, if nothing else, a Cambodian trip is a blast and a genuine adventure. However, the PEPY experience is more than that. It is not about haggling at street markets or taking conversation-piece pictures; it is about falling in love with a country by seeing that its people, through poverty and genocide, still smile more than executives living in mansions. This organization has not only given me some of my fondest memories, but its mission and its staff (particularly one of its founders) have made me realize my true calling.
The time I have had with PEPY has made me a better person in every way, and, if you let it, it will do the same for you.
Thank you, Navin! Please come join us some day! Or we will have to come through Pokhara at some point - it is a place I would love to visit! Many thanks for all you do with WHL!
Thank you, Stacy. That is very nice of you! Please come visit us if you are traveling through Asia. There are only 4 days left to vote.... maybe you can pass the information on to the rest of the Backroads team. All the best to you!
Many thanks,
Daniela
We had a great time at the Geotourism Summit and were delighted at the chance to learn from so many fabulous people.
Thank you for your comment, and please come join us in Cambodia some day :-)
Best,
Daniela
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Daniela Papi
PEPY Founder
www.pepyride.org
Here is a thank you to all who commented here on the PEPY entry and voiced their support for our organization.
http://pepyride.ning.com/profiles/blogs/thank-you-to-all-who-commented
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Daniela Papi
PEPY Founder
www.pepyride.org
Bright, young, committed, creative, energetic, real... PEPY is one of the best teams I ever worked with. A true inspiration.
I doubt there are many other entries that get comments from two great Waynes in the same week :-)
Thank YOU, Wayne! The directions you have gone and told us about since joining us on a PEPY trip have been inspiring, to say they least! We are so glad that your trip with us was catalytic (in a good way!) and that we have your support!
(and yes, you should always eat dessert first.... doesn't everyone!)
Many thanks - Daniela
Wow, you are too kind. Thank you for supporting our work, believing in PEPY, and believing in me! I am grateful that I had the chance to speak at the IWF conference as I met so many inspiring people there, including you and your family. THANK YOU! Please come back again and visit us some time soon!
Thank you! I have never been to Uruguay, but would love to. Thanks for reading our post, and for the hug :-) Please visit if you are ever in Cambodia.
Best,
Daniela
Pepy Ride is one of the best NGOs working in Cambodia. Its staff are committed and energetic bringing a vibrancy to the communities in which they work. The organization is focused and the goal is admirable and Pepy's methods should serve as a model for other NGOs working in the developing world.
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Dougald O'Reilly
Director, Heritage Watch
Ha! If you saw the 400+ unanswered emails in my inbox right now or the state of my desk, you might not think I am so on top of everything anymore :-) Our TEAM here are the organized ones - Sela's spreadsheets and ability to keep everything in order in both his mind and his papers keeps our office running smoothly, Kimline's "number one in her class" (though she doesn't like to talk about it!) accounting practices and her pushing us to do things better and be as responsible as possible with our money and our processes make us more efficient at what we do. Soe keeps our websites running smoothly (except when hackers put viruses on our site! But even then he notices right away and is working on it!). Rithy keeps us laughing - keeps us thinking - and is the least afraid to say "Daniela, you're wrong." (which is very often the case!). Ratana gets EVERYONE'S opinion - makes everyone feel heard - and smiles through even the most difficult of conversations (even when we had him practice saying "Daniela, you're wrong." today to see if he could do it ;-)) Awat signs her name with a heart before her signature... I mean, come on! How can you compete with that!? And the list goes on, our staff and THEIR commitment to improving education in Cambodia is what makes this work: Channeang teaching herself how to use the XO and then excelling at Scratch to the point where she is inspiring kids to want to learn to read Khmer through their computer classes, Thavry now being a published author/illustrator (woohoo!) and making our early literacy program better, Monkol taking it upon himself to work on a database for all of our scattered information, Sarrakk and Chim Seng absorbing any new information given to them and keeping their classes smiling, Srey Touh with her model library showing the visitors from the Ministry of Education...
PEPY is an awesome organization, I did a tour in April 2007 and it impacted my life in innumerable ways. I became much more conscious of environmental issues and my own degree of consumption. It's been amazing to see PEPY develop over the past several years, and I've increasingly impressed by the thoughtful and reflective nature of the organization. They are a non-profit that should be a model to others in the voluntourism sector, partly because they are not afraid to figure out what mistakes they are making, acknowledge them, and create new strategies to deal with them.
I enjoy following PEPY from abroad and can't wait to go back and visit sometime soon!
Happy Earth Day!!
- CW
Thank you, judges, for your thoughtful & kind feedback. I appreciate your support for our work and hope that some day you are all able to come out and visit and give us further feedback on the realities you see with our impact here in Cambodia. I think there is a lot that we could learn from all of you!
Yes, indeed, we need to work on our marketing. Our websites are very confusing & for some it might seem that the "voluntourism" aspects of our work actually are a key part of our development programs, which is not the case. The two groups are indeed separate as we build our development programs on the best practices we are able to implement in terms of sustainable solutions. The tours are indeed designed to "fill in" or add value as needed, but are first and foremost designed as learning experiences for travelers. The development programs are designed to run with our without visitors & are not dependent on the tours themselves.
In order to have the development programs be financially "sustainable" & no longer rely in part on grants and private donations outside of the tours, indeed increased tour numbers and fill-rates are needed. Marketing, both increased exposure & improved strategies, are perhaps our weakest link in our tours, as satisfaction ratings and return rates post-trip are high. Our bottleneck is awareness, and we need to invest both time & money in getting the right message out to the right people to get more exposure and interest for our tours.
If we are chosen as winners in the Geotourism Challenge, we will use the award funding to increase our marketing and improve the PEPY Tours website. We have some fabulous volunteers helping to advise us on these issues, but we would always love additional advice and mentoriship in this area, should anyone want to give us further thoughts. Many thanks for all you do!
I've just recently started volunteering with PEPY and grow more and more fond of them every day. The thing about PEPY that makes them different from many other NGOs is that they work from bottom-up. They are here on location in Cambodia, constantly re-evaluating their programs, getting feedback from the Cambodian staff and the community. They are versatile, responsive and innovative and always put community needs ahead of those of the tourists. Many NGOs fail to do that, attracted by the commercial aspect of voluntourism they soon forget where their priorities lie. At PEPY volunteers and tour participants alike are encouraged to evaluate the dealings behind every NGO they get involved asking the questions like: Is the tour operator creating meaningful opportunities for travelers while considering the needs of the community first? Does the tour operator donate funds to the supported project, or simply profit from funding from the travelers?
I've known the team at PEPY since 2006 and have always been impressed with their commitment not only to their own organization and the work they do in Cambodia, but also to the volunteer tourism and adventure tourism industries at large.
Daniela Papi and MaryAnn Bylander have made great strides in the past couple years. They are constantly working to improve their programs in Cambodia and at the same time documenting what they're learning and making the investment in time and money to see their lessons learned reach a broader traveling and industry audience. This year they're collaborating with Karina Kloos to document a set of effective practices examining how volunteer-adventure companies can operate best relative to communities, travelers and the environment.
And of course, traveling with the PEPY team is a whole lot of fun. After finishing their Jan 2007 trip (the first time I had ever cycled more than two hours around my neighborhood - which was Washington, D.C. at that time), my attitudes about adventure travel and volunteering had evolved considerably. What I learned working with PEPY led our consulting practice (Xola Consulting, Inc) to focus more heavily on the mix between adventure tourism and volunteering, an area we continue to explore.
I'm a fan!
I've just recently started volunteering with PEPY and grow more and more fond of them every day. The thing about PEPY that makes them different from many other NGOs is that they work from bottom-up. They are here on location in Cambodia, constantly re-evaluating their programs, getting feedback from the Cambodian staff and the community. They are versatile, responsive and innovative and always put community needs ahead of those of the tourists. Many NGOs fail to do that, attracted by the commercial aspect of voluntourism they soon forget where their priorities lie. At PEPY volunteers and tour participants alike are encouraged to evaluate the dealings behind every NGO they get involved asking the questions like: Is the tour operator creating meaningful opportunities for travelers while considering the needs of the community first? Does the tour operator donate funds to the supported project, or simply profit from funding from the travelers?
Three years ago I found myself buy a plane ticket to Cambodia because I wanted to go on a cycling trip and that's what PEPY was offering. I had no interest in voluntourism, development, or NGO work. Today I am sitting in the PEPY office in Siem Reap having spent over a year working with and learning from some of the most amazing people I have ever met.
I know I am only one of countless people that have joined a PEPY tour and left Cambodia changed forever for the better.
Who else?
I'm one of those fortunate enough to be working with PEPY and I'll be upfront in my bias: I love 'em!
I've learned so much in my time here about Cambodia, social development projects, and volunteer and educational tourism. A lot of that has come through the challenging discussions we have in the PEPY office around those issues, often initiated by Daniela, who continually challenges herself and all of us to improve our efforts. She's not perfect. PEPY's not perfect. But I'll be hard struck to find another organization that so openly owns up to its past mistakes and so persistently strives for improvement.
In addition to reflecting on its own experiences, PEPY does what most other social development organizations do not: engage and partner with other organizations! Sadly, the competitive nature of businesses that has seeped into the social sector often drives social organizations to operate in silos with a sense of competition rather than collaboration. In contrary, so many of PEPY's efforts are geared towards collaboration, learning from and supporting other organizations and resource sharing. PEPY EVEN FUNDRAISES FOR OTHER ORGANIZATIONS! (and that's not out of excess, but out of commitment and sacrifice for our shared goal: improving the societies we aim to serve)
My own role with PEPY is entirely exemplary of these efforts. Daniela had a vision to create a guide for responsible volunteer tourism to a) hold PEPY accountable and improve its tours, and b) share with others the lessons learned to help others avoid making the same mistakes. Daniela has sparked conversation around this issue of responsible voluntourism through conference presentations, blog posts and continual discussion in our office. We're looking to expand that conversation to reach - and hopefully support - a wider, global group of industry participants and operators. We recognize that there are transformational opportunities through volunteer travel experiences (we've just come off of 2 incredible weeks with 2 incredible groups of volunteers from Dubai) and we want to make the most of that for our own tours. Hopefully others do, as well. PEPY aims to encourage discussion and mobilize others to maximize opportunities and minimize the potentially detrimental effects of volunteer tourism. (Voluntourism101.com on its way...)
And while PEPY's own projects and priorities are always demanding, I'm continually amazed with Daniela's leadership in maintaining PEPY's commitment to the industry and communities beyond the organization's immediate interests and needs, such as Voluntourism 101. She's kind of like a Paul Farmer in that way, in so many ways, actually. There's never an opportunity missed to share and give, inspire and change.
On that note, I think the "uniqueness" of PEPY is really that it's not striving to be unique (except when a competition asks us to see ourselves that way). That's not the goal. I don't think that's our goal or should be anyone's goal. A role model. A leader. An inspiration. A collaborator. A partner. A great tour operator. An organization that provides opportunities for empowerment and educational experiences. YES! YES! YES! And PEPY is all of those. Let's hope, though, that we're NOT unique in that
Kristen/Brian - It's so nice to see past participants on our tours still reflecting, years later, about the effect the trip had on their lives. Brian, you came for two years, I thought you were going to make a PEPY Tour an annual thing? We miss you - come back! You too Kristen! Thanks for being a part of that waterfilter mural - if you read through our post here on Changemakers you will see that not a single person drinks from the pump anymore. In fact, through a program where the local teachers were teaching about the effects of water filters, PEPY's local staff helped to get over 200 affordable and effective ceramic water-filters purchased by families in the community of Chanleas Dai. The principal now says that the water filters in each classroom was the thing with the largest impact on education they have seen as now attendance rates of both teachers and students is much higher as illnesses have dropped.
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Daniela Papi
PEPY
I only discovered Pepy a couple of months ago on the internet, I was immediately impressed by there ethos and the programs they where developing. I applied to be an intern with them in Siem Reap and was luckily accepted. I arrived yesterday and am very excited to learn more about and inspiring company and team of people.
The first time I heard about PEPY was in Japan in 2006, when an Australian friend (Natalia Manidis) was talking about her experience on the first PEPY ride - her pictures and her stories were unbelievable and based on her recommendations, I knew several more people who went out to volunteer with PEPY. The next year, I was in San Diego, when Christina Heyniger was talking about having worked with PEPY, about a week ago I was having dinner with a woman who worked in Mongolia and she was talking about PEPY....and only yesterday I was standing in the hallway of my university in Washington, DC discussing PEPY with a woman who works in Honduras - these are just a few short examples of how PEPY has really inspired people around the world; I also really see it being a positive example for NGOs that emphasizes the value of truly learning about a country and the context, first. II was lucky enough to get out a visit a few months ago to see fist hand what it was all about after hearing so much about it- I can't believe all the good work PEPY does! Daniela, Maryann and their awesome team of staff and volunteers are very inspirational. I can't think of better organization for this award.
I had the privilege of taking part in the August 2007 trip as well as the December PEPY Ride III - experiences that are hard to sum up in a small comments box! While I've been part of volunteer trips before, what amazes me the most about PEPY is how much I learned, and how passionate, raw and honest they are. We learned about amazing, local organizations doing incredible things, and most importantly, the lessons they learned along the way and the steps they continue to take to make their programs better. We learned about different perspectives on development, and rather than learning through textbooks or the websites of large organizations, I gained a perspective from the realities on the ground. My time with PEPY was more than I could have hoped for. It was an incredible opportunity to be exposed to a number of socially responsible organizations, learn about the simplicity of development principles and the challenges of implementing them successfully. I was struck by how I started to think differently and realized how little I knew and how much I wanted to learn more. I enjoyed listening, learning and challenging the wealth of knowledge of both the PEPY staff and their partners (that they share honestly and openly), and formulating new perspectives I didn't have before. Experiential learning never felt so sweet!
While PEPY is making a difference through their programs in Cambodia, they also made a difference in me. While I walked away with great memories, pictures I will always cherish, and a strong love for Cambodia, I also walked away with a changed and more informed perspective, a deeper understanding of what successful, sustainable development is, a strong personal momentum of knowledge-seeking, and a desire to continue contributing to causes I believe in. Thank you PEPY!!
PEPY is in another competition on this website here:
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/21970
so if you feel like voting for PEPY on that site while you are logged in, please do! There are also comments there from me on how we have worked to create a great team here in Cambodia and the challenges we have faced along the way.
Thanks!
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Daniela Papi
PEPY Founder
www.pepyride.org
I have been researching tour operators who 'walk their talk' regarding responsible travel, as I connect travelers to itineraries that best meet their needs that also have sustainability components, and to operators who demonstrate commitment to responsible travel. I believe that PEPY is a model in the industry, setting high standards for responsible tourism, educating and creating awareness regarding sustainable travel, and insuring long term support of local people and their communities in Cambodia.
PEPY has always been an organization that hasn't been afraid to stand up for what they believe in, to acknowledge their mistakes and to actively seek places to collaborate.
A genuinely great company that is trying to do some real good on the ground in Cambodia.
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Alexia Nestora is a voluntourism industry consultant, helping providers with strategy and monitoring industry trends.
Indeed it is true. The PEPY model deserves acclaim and recognition.
Indeed it is true, voluntourists sign up BECAUSE they have raised money. In fact, the model is so impressive because it addresses critical issues.
PEPY only invest in sustainable work. Their work creates legacy and by it's nature ensures that voluntourists are engaged long after they have visited.
The fact that these voluntourists are not "one hit wonders" also assists PEPY address their single biggest challenge which is marketing.
In creating voluntourists who have first raised money and then traveled, who secondly then work on a sustainable life changing project and then return home wanting to return and wanting to inform others of their amazing experience, PEPY have developed an outstanding voluntourism model.
In addition the PEPY team's ability to be extremely transparent with their funding, their projects and their self critical analyses of their work instills enormous confidence in anyone who volunteers or enjoys a PEPY experience.
The thought of "rocking in and then rocking out" as a voluntourist fills me with dread. The thought of "rocking in and never rocking out" fills me with hope.
May that hope live long, long into the future.
Jeff
Dear Daniela,
I really enjoyed reading about the work that you are doing and was incredibly impressed with all of the comments and positive feedback on your work and the PEPY experience. It is clear you're doing great work and having a positive impact on travelers and the local community.
I have a few questions for you about your work:
1. What do your visits to the local schools entail?
2. How do you collaborate with development projects in your region? Can you give some examples?
3. How do you share the information and lessons learned from your program?
4. Its great that you're tracking the impact of your projects - what have the results been?
5. What were the responses from the Participatory Rurl Assessment you conducted?
Thank you for submitting your entry and keep up the good work. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Dana Frasz
Ashoka's Changemakers
Hi Daniela,
You guys are truly an inspiration and leading the way in the education, voluntourism and adventure space.
Keep up the good work and I look forward to being in touch.
Dave
PEPY is one of the most open, collaborative, trustworthy, inspiring and action focused companies that I've met, across any industry sector. Their willingness to engage, be totally transparent, open to criticism is only topped by how single mindedly they focus on improving the lives of Cambodian communities. Such an inspiring team !
Here is a re-post of some of the thoughts I wrote down about voluntourism, PEPY's model, and my thoughts on the concept as a whole.
I agree that voluntourism can lead to corruption, harm to better development options, and colonialist attitudes in travelers if not facilitated well. As an industry, I think it is right that voluntourism has gotten a bad reputation as much of it is indeed doing the above. On the other hand, as travelers are still traveling, many of whom want to give back, and that would be hard to stop, I am of the opinion that it can be done BETTER, and that is what we are aiming to do at PEPY.
My thoughts here: http://voluntourismgal.wordpress.com/2009/05/31/volunteering-or-voluntou...
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Daniela Papi
PEPY Founder
www.pepyride.org
As the judges look through these posts, I wonder what the general thought on "voluntourism" is.... if it is anything like what I imagine it to be, I get the feeling that that word causes more skepticism than positive feelings these days from those in the travel industry..... and good! It should! There are a lot of negatives that come with the territory of mixing foreigners in development work and the general mixing of "haves and have less-es".
My thoughts are:
- It's complicated.
- "In theory" is often different than in reality when it comes to humans.
- People are going to travel. People want to do good. Often times their unguided and uninformed attempts to do so can do more harm. There needs to be systems in place to help them achieve, at least partially, the good they are looking to do, and educate them on the ways to do so.
- Charging $3000 for a tour and giving $100 of that to a charity visited briefly along the way is not (in my opinion) "voluntourism" (though if you subscribe to the voluntourism google alerts you would have seen just that being offered this week.... and many other weeks!). Funding projects or providing specified labor to a project which is designed and managed locally will have the most positive results. But, that doesn't mean that both of the above can't be combined with other hands on work as well, and doing (or not doing) hands on work, in my opinion again, is not what makes voluntourism good or bad.... it's how you design it over all!
I have three more recent posts on my blog about my own views on voluntourism and PEPY's approach. Thanks for reading!
http://pepyride.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?user=287r82udz8n98
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Daniela Papi
PEPY Founder
www.pepyride.org
I participated in a PEPY tour for the first time in May 2008 and it seriously changed the way I think about a LOT of things. I came away from that tour with my eyes opened wide and a million thoughts swirling around my head. At least one of which was "How on earth does Daniela Papi DO everything that she does?". It blows my mind how much she is constantly thinking and acting and reassessing and questioning and researching and keeping on top of...well...EVERYTHING! She has been a MASSIVE inspiration to me and I have tried to make PEPY a part of my life as much as possible since that first trip. I am so grateful for the opportunities that PEPY has made available to me and I am certain that in both my life, and the life of many many MANY others, PEPY is going to play a huge part and make some serious impact. I just wish I could do MORE for PEPY in return! I would recommend PEPY to anyone who is interested in education, travel, development, Cambodia, or anyone who is looking for something to give them the inspiration and motivation they need to make small changes in their life and have a positive impact on the world. At the risk of sounding a little morbid, our time on this planet is short, in the grand scheme of things, and so with the time we have here, I think we have an obligation to do something worthwhile, give back, and protect the earth for future generations. For me, PEPY is an organisation which does, and encourages others to do, all of these things.