PEPY

Pepy

Founder(s)	Daniela Ruby Papi
Type	Education
Tax ID No.	501(c)3# 20-4739485
Founded	2005
Location	Siem Reap, Cambodia
Area served	Cambodia
Revenue	US$ 602,276 (2009)[1]
Volunteers	18
Employees	40[2]
Motto	"Adventurous Living, Responsible Giving"
Website	http://www.pepyride.org/

PEPY is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) registered in the USA and Cambodia. The organization aims to aid rural communities in improving their own standard of living, through increased access to quality education and other development projects.^[3] PEPY is headquartered in Siem Reap, Cambodia but has education offices in rural Chanleas Dai, Cambodia. The acronym "PEPY" originally stood for "Protect the Earth, Protect Yourself", an idea rooted in the relationship between the environment and individual health, although PEPY’s programs have since expanded beyond environmental education. PEPY programs now focus on leadership, Khmer (Cambodian language) literacy, teacher training, and broader improvements in the education offered in government schools.

History

In 2004 six friends decided to cycle from the Thai border to Vietnam to raise funds for educational projects. This first PEPY Ride raised enough money to fund the construction of The PEPY Ride School in the rural community of Chanleas Dai, Cambodia, which opened on December 31, 2005.

Mission

PEPY's mission is to invest time and resources in people, connecting them with the skills, systems, and inspiration necessary to improve the quality of education in their communities, raise local standards of living, and achieve their goals.^[4]

Structure

Pepy is divided into two operational and structural entities: Pepy Ride and Pepy Tours. Pepy Ride is the non-profit NGO arm of the organization that is responsible for the organization's developmental activities. Pepy Tours is a for-profit tour company that organizes and operates various tours in Cambodia.

PEPY Ride (NGO) Programs

PEPY’s programs have a focus on leadership, Khmer literacy, teacher training, and broader improvements in the education offered in government schools. Today through partner government schools and informal education initiatives, PEPY supports education for more than 1,700 families in 12 villages and 10 schools in rural Siem Reap province.

PEPY’s programs and models of giving are built on these principles: Build capacity in people, partner with other organizations, share lessons learned, allow for flexibility in programs, work with local government, and monitor impact. Pepy's programs include:

Leadership Development

PEPY works to empower school, community, and youth leaders to take action to create quality learning environments—carried out through child and youth leadership clubs, school support committee development and training, and government school partnerships.

Literacy

PEPY empowers teachers and students with the tools to increase literacy rates, the use of printed material in the classroom, and a love of reading in government schools—carried out through school and classroom library programs, teacher training, resource creation, Khmer language book printing, and summer literacy camps.

Supplemental Education

PEPY works with government schools to offer additional academic programing during students’ free time and school breaks. PEPY’s junior high school program focuses on creativity and critical thinking through a Creative Learning Class, which uses XO computers, science experiments, and robots as media for learning problem solving.

Educational Tourism

These rural education programs are supported in part through PEPY’s tourism arm, PEPY Tours. PEPY Tours offers learning, adventure, and development-education experiences to students, teachers, families, and independent groups looking to travel Cambodia responsibly. The tour fees cover participants’ travel expenses, and the required fundraising or donation goes directly to the non-profit programs.

School construction

Although PEPY’s key focus is improving the quality of education in rural areas through holistic education programs and teacher training, PEPY also works with the Ministry of Education to improve access to permanent, safe classrooms where they are needed. To date, PEPY has funded the construction of four primary schools and two lower secondary schools.

PEPY Tours

PEPY Tours offers educational adventures, cycling trips, and community-based learning tours throughout Cambodia. These range from trips catered to specific school groups, to custom tours, to pre-set adventures which are offered periodically throughout the year.

Awards and Recognition

• 2010 Wild Asia Responsible Tourism Award Finalist^[5]

External links

• PEPY Ride (NGO)
• PEPY Tours
• Finding volunteer trips that actually help
• PEPY Tours in Cambodia: A 2010 Responsible Tourism Award Finalist

References

1. ^ http://www.pepyride.org/files/PEPY_Annual_Report_2009-2010.pdf
2. ^ http://www.pepyride.org/files/PEPY_Annual_Report_2009-2010.pdf
3. ^ http://www.wildasia.org/main.cfm/RT/Pepytours
4. ^ http://pepyride.org/programs/pepy-philosophy
5. ^ http://www.thetravelword.com/2010/09/23/pepy-tours-in-cambodia-a-2010-responsible-tourism-award-finalist/