Back in 'Bodia
Wow.... have I really been here for a week? I landed in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital, on Monday - headed straight for an appointment with a real estate agent which a friend had kindly set up, looked at 10 places, and then signed on the one I had seen first (as it always goes ;-)).
PEPY now has an office/apartment and a real physical presence in Cambodia. Feels great. All still getting settled in, internet still to be turned on this Friday, towels still awaiting purchase, and some more life still needed to make the PEPY office a bit peppy-er, but overall a very successful week.
PEPY has 4 interns who will be joining me this fall here in Cambodia. One, Erin, is already here and has been a huge help. It's been fun watching her fall in love with Cambodia - seeing all her energy, excitement, and drive come out with her belief in this project. For a while now, PEPY has been a "virtual organization" - amazing people from all over the world working together for a common cause rocks.... but having someone next to you to say "Hey, will this work?" rocks. Having a team to work with, in an office, will make PEPY a whole new thing for me. I am loving it even more already.
OK, so what IS PEPY, you ask? Funny you should do so, as I seem to get that a lot. And the answer changes a lot. I, of all people, should have my elevator pitch down pat. But even I waiver. Today's definition of PEPY is:
PEPY: a non-profit organization supporting educational projects in Cambodia including building schools, a Bike-to-School Program aiming at increasing access to education, and support for a variety of education initiatives across the country. PEPY gets 70% of its funding from voluntourism efforts. PEPY offers cycling and volunteer tours through the Kingdom of Cambodia and the profits from the tours support our education initiatives. Further funding largely comes from individual donations, though some grant apps are out, with more to come (Yeah awesome interns!). PEPY Tour participants are able to impact Cambodia through funds raised as well as through volunteer opportunities mixed with the chance to experience a country you should see NOW, before the throngs come.
Oh... and they are COMING I tell you. My goodness. This place changes daily. I have not been up to Siem Reap (next to the world famous Angkor Wat temple complex) since I got back from four moths in the states, but I am sure I will hardly recognize it even after such a short break. It changes ever time I come back - even if within a few weeks. It is estimated that 5 million tourists will visit Cambodia per annum in the coming years while current numbers are closer to 1 million. What will happen to the temples? They are starting to get crowded now, with only 1 million.... how will they look at 3 million? 5?! Disneyland? I hope not....
"But you are adding to tourism Daniela," you say? Well, not much. Mostly I believe we are getting people who are going to Cambodia anyway, but are looking for a way to give back while they do so. Also, the average tourist stays for 2.7 days in Cambodia - flying in and out of Siem Reap, seeing the temples, staying in western run hotels, eating imported foods, never visiting the countryside to bring their tourist dollars out of this elite area, and then heading-off without ever seeing what I for one think is the real wonder-of-the-world. Angkor Wat is spectacular, don't get me wrong, but rural areas, flat lands dotted with palm trees, rock "mountains" jetting out now and again to break up the flat flooded plains, kids riding to school on their bikes past sunsets silhouetted by farmers hand-planting rice, small sugar-cane stands when no-one else appears to be around for miles..... for me that is the mystique and allure of Cambodia. PEPY is bringing people there. No one else is going there.
"But is THAT good?" you say. Good question my friend, good question. I do think so. In small doses, with good intentions and real goals and thought-out projects. PEPY's two August tours built rainwater collection units in rural villages at schools. Now those children have access to clean water every day, in both the rainy and wet season, with even enough to bring home to their families. With water related illnesses being one of the biggest causes of death in this area, I think that's a pretty good reason to head into these untouched areas. And the people we have met, and those we have brought, seem to think so too.
So, that's me today. Thinking away on a friend's computer, looking forward to having internet at Chez PEPY, wondering which of you will some day join us here in Cambodia and what impact you and your PEPY Tour will have...... a great one I doooo hope.
- Daniela
PEPY now has an office/apartment and a real physical presence in Cambodia. Feels great. All still getting settled in, internet still to be turned on this Friday, towels still awaiting purchase, and some more life still needed to make the PEPY office a bit peppy-er, but overall a very successful week.
PEPY has 4 interns who will be joining me this fall here in Cambodia. One, Erin, is already here and has been a huge help. It's been fun watching her fall in love with Cambodia - seeing all her energy, excitement, and drive come out with her belief in this project. For a while now, PEPY has been a "virtual organization" - amazing people from all over the world working together for a common cause rocks.... but having someone next to you to say "Hey, will this work?" rocks. Having a team to work with, in an office, will make PEPY a whole new thing for me. I am loving it even more already.
OK, so what IS PEPY, you ask? Funny you should do so, as I seem to get that a lot. And the answer changes a lot. I, of all people, should have my elevator pitch down pat. But even I waiver. Today's definition of PEPY is:
PEPY: a non-profit organization supporting educational projects in Cambodia including building schools, a Bike-to-School Program aiming at increasing access to education, and support for a variety of education initiatives across the country. PEPY gets 70% of its funding from voluntourism efforts. PEPY offers cycling and volunteer tours through the Kingdom of Cambodia and the profits from the tours support our education initiatives. Further funding largely comes from individual donations, though some grant apps are out, with more to come (Yeah awesome interns!). PEPY Tour participants are able to impact Cambodia through funds raised as well as through volunteer opportunities mixed with the chance to experience a country you should see NOW, before the throngs come.
Oh... and they are COMING I tell you. My goodness. This place changes daily. I have not been up to Siem Reap (next to the world famous Angkor Wat temple complex) since I got back from four moths in the states, but I am sure I will hardly recognize it even after such a short break. It changes ever time I come back - even if within a few weeks. It is estimated that 5 million tourists will visit Cambodia per annum in the coming years while current numbers are closer to 1 million. What will happen to the temples? They are starting to get crowded now, with only 1 million.... how will they look at 3 million? 5?! Disneyland? I hope not....
"But you are adding to tourism Daniela," you say? Well, not much. Mostly I believe we are getting people who are going to Cambodia anyway, but are looking for a way to give back while they do so. Also, the average tourist stays for 2.7 days in Cambodia - flying in and out of Siem Reap, seeing the temples, staying in western run hotels, eating imported foods, never visiting the countryside to bring their tourist dollars out of this elite area, and then heading-off without ever seeing what I for one think is the real wonder-of-the-world. Angkor Wat is spectacular, don't get me wrong, but rural areas, flat lands dotted with palm trees, rock "mountains" jetting out now and again to break up the flat flooded plains, kids riding to school on their bikes past sunsets silhouetted by farmers hand-planting rice, small sugar-cane stands when no-one else appears to be around for miles..... for me that is the mystique and allure of Cambodia. PEPY is bringing people there. No one else is going there.
"But is THAT good?" you say. Good question my friend, good question. I do think so. In small doses, with good intentions and real goals and thought-out projects. PEPY's two August tours built rainwater collection units in rural villages at schools. Now those children have access to clean water every day, in both the rainy and wet season, with even enough to bring home to their families. With water related illnesses being one of the biggest causes of death in this area, I think that's a pretty good reason to head into these untouched areas. And the people we have met, and those we have brought, seem to think so too.
So, that's me today. Thinking away on a friend's computer, looking forward to having internet at Chez PEPY, wondering which of you will some day join us here in Cambodia and what impact you and your PEPY Tour will have...... a great one I doooo hope.
- Daniela
Daniela Papi
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