Thank you everyone for your invaluable contribution and support. Sometimes visuals speak loader than words, so here's a video full of PEPY love our team made for all of you: http://bit.ly/pepythankyou .

YAY FOR PEPY!!!! CONGRATULATIONS

We have a new site which just launched for PEPY Tours at www.pepytours.com - please visit it and give us feedback.

We also posted a list of Voluntourism Effective Practices which have been many months in the making.
http://lessonsilearned.org/2009/09/voluntourism101/

We made this site to help self-check our tour operations to make sure we were designing our trips well and to learn effective practices from others in the voluntourism sector. We'd love feedback on this as well!

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Daniela Papi
PEPY Founder
www.pepyride.org

I know that PEPY is a good organization that help students can continueu studyiny all the good places.

Bravo, PEPY. Your project is wonderful. I support you.

Bravo, PEPY. You will get high score in this competition.

Bravo, PEPY.

My heart has been with PEPY since 2006. PEPY is one of really few causes to be happy. Vote for PEPY!

Just wanted to add that I agree with all of the previous comments... PEPY is an outstanding organization in terms of passionate leadership, true community development, sharing of info; and the most important, great results! But I also want to add that one of the things that really sets PEPY apart is the general reflective practice. The PEPY team are always open to honestly looking at their programming, and how they and other organizations, can do better. The environment can change, a community's goals can change, and funding can come and go; but as long as there is a commitment to honest evaluation then an organization can always be contributing to the fullest. And PEPY does this like no other.

Daniela,

What a delightful surprise to see your organization in this competition - congratulations for your clearly incredible efforts and inspiring results! It seems you are also making great strides towards another lofty goal no one has mentioned: social justice. By helping distribute the advantage of education, you are promoting equality of opportunity, paving the way to a more just society overall. Finally, your enthusiasm and passion is contagious and I'm sure will bring you what you need to help PEPY grow in its mission.
You have my vote.
Stacy L.
Backroads

Daniela Ruby Papi is one of those young people who will genuinely make a difference in the world and in this case Cambodia through education.

I met Daniela at a very sophisticated and highly regarded International Woman's Forum World conference in Hong Kong as she was one of the speakers. The audience, is daunting at best, from women Prime Ministers to women Captains of Industry from around the world. Here was a young American that spoke with true heart felt passion and the conviction that all endeavours of their group should be reported in a forthright manner, so other NGOs may learn from their successes and mistakes out of the blocks. Daniela got a standing ovation, a rare event in such a group.

Subsequent to the conference we were in Cambodia, Siem Reap the home of Ankor Wat. We spent some time with Daniela learning about The Pepy School Project and visited the schools, while there we met some other young American volunteers some of whom had come back for a second term. Job well Done!

This is not so much eco-tourism as it is culture exchange at the roots of the world with eco-tourism being the funding formula. When these young people are leaders, which they will be, as we pass them the torch there will be a far greater inculcated understanding of cultures and people than anything my generation was capable of.

While I am perhaps a little over the hill for bicycle tours I am not without compassion and the wherewith all to make it happen.

If ever there was a sincere deserving group Pepy Ride is it. They get my unqualified vote.

On July 1, 2009 the judges reviewed the entries for the Changemakers “Geotourism Challenge 2009: Power of Place Sustaining the Future of Destinations” competition and would like to pass on the following feedback (listed below) for your entry. Thank you for applying and for your hard work in the field. We are excited to archive your entry to serve as a leading solution for the worldwide community of innovators. If possible, please take the time to respond to some of the provocative questions and issues that were raised by the judges. We wish you continued luck with your innovative, sustainable, and socially impactful initiatives.

All the best, The Changemakers Team.

“We see a lot of voluntourism programs that are sometimes more detrimental then beneficial. Often as the tourist you go in and volunteer while disrupting the whole community to “help”. This program on the other hand is an established program that deals with education and allows the tourists to adapt to the education program and “fill in” the gaps versus taking over the program.”

“There is a great balance between resources and local companies and local development. I commend this project for battling a socially complex issue, but it needs to simplify how it communicates itself as a tourist company with a clear product to sell. They’re doing good, I can see the sustainability and there is a solid focus on visitors learning over giving.

“Potentially excellent innovation like a “cycling for change” platform. The connection between riding somewhere and making a change as you pedal to your destination puts it ahead of challenge bike rides. Perhaps PEPY can push this idea to make more of this to become truly innovative. There is high fundraising and therefore social impact is very impressive but the financial sustainability depends on improved marketing. I would like to see more on these areas.”

- Changemakers “Geotourism Challenge 2009: Power of Place Sustaining the Future of Destinations” Judges: National Geographic Society, United Nations Foundation, Tribe Wanted, The Green Belt Movement, Lonely Planet, Southwest

Go PEPY!!! Get those votes!!!

Of the many organizations I visited recently in Cambodia, PEPY stood out as one of the best. I was deeply inspired with what they are doing for the students and the community in this rural area of Cambodia. They are making a huge difference in the lives of the people!

-Dr. Wayne E. Wright
University of Texas at San Antonio

Greetings from Nepal to the entire PEPY Team!

What you have done and achieved so far must be taken by those who dare and care to attempt whatever it takes to bring about the changes that are necessary for their own places to prosper.

I wish you all the best and look forward to hearing even bigger success stories about you in the future.

Best regards,

Navin M Shrestha
whl.travel MPO, Kathmandu - Nepal
www.KathmanduHotel-Link.com
www.PokharaHotel-Link.com

Oh Gosh, I posted a comment and it vanished!
Take 3, this is now the polished version :)

Like everyone here, we all have been Inspired, Stand in Awe and Appreciation and Significantly Changed by the work that PEPY does for the Children of Cambodia and the Khmer people.
The many Projects that they strive for, always achieve their disired outcomes.

Before going to Cambodia this year, through a Rotary contact, I asked a gentleman who manages an orphanage in Siem Reap, what he had heard of PEPY. His simple reply was " I can confirm that PEPY is a excellent and worthy organisation."

Thankyou PEPYPEOPLE for expanding my views on what is achieveable and directing me towards future humanitarian goals. To Daniela, Maryann, Karina and Sela, as well as the rest of the team, I wish you all the very best. May your entry here, retrieve the just recognition it so rightly deserves.
I hope to return someday! Go Team Funky-Brush, we Rock!
Kindest Regards, Wayne
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"Life is short, eat dessert first"

I can say first hand as a former intern in the PEPY office in Cambodia, that this organization is driven by passion. One thing that immediately becomes apparent when coming into contact with PEPY staff is their love for Cambodia and its people. This has lead to tremendous results as this passion manifests in intelligent, hardworking individuals.

PEPY staff make decisions based on what is best for local people, incorporating locals in decision making whenever possible. I believe in PEPY's message of empowerment and have seen this belief in action.

PEPY has accomplished so much with limited resources over the few short years since its inception and I am excited to see what comes as resources grow.

I fully support PEPY and believe in Daniella, Maryann, and the entire passionate PEPY staff.

Ms Daniela Papi,muy interesante el proyecto!! desde Uruguay,en el norte del pais, enviamos los mejores augurios para que éste proyecto alcance el éxito esperado por quienes lo sueñan.
Abrazo fraterno.
Lady Rodriguez
www.biouruguay.org
http://bio-uruguay.blogspot.com

I would echo most everyone here - PEPY is truly an incredible organization with a hard-working team behind it. To select just one reason today [as there are simply too many to cover in one comment]for voting for PEPY, it is the power of sharing. They have endlessly impressed me with their desire to learn and to share their knowledge with others. They help educate EVERYONE involved - the volunteers and through them their families and friends back home, the students at the schools, the teachers at the schools, the people in the communities, the interns, the employees, members of other organizations, the donors, themselves - the list is endless. They ask questions and look for answers in everything they do and the share the answers with everyone. This I think is profound to everything that they do and big contributor to their success in both completing their goals in Cambodia and continuously changing the lives of those involved. I hope those who have been involved will all continue to share and raise awareness as an ode to what we have had the opportunity to learn.

Peppi - rider on 1st ever PEPY Ride, past intern, lifetime fan

I choose PEPY because from the moment I became involved I was pushed to be a better version of me. I was encouraged to push others, and I was reminded that I have the capacity to not just consider the changes I wanted to see in the world, but to enact them. I used to think I needed permission from others to move forward with ideas to make the world better. Now I recognize my own potential (and the potential of each of us) to create change.

I should probably admit I work for PEPY and have for two years. I choose PEPY not only in this contest, but in my everyday life, work, in my friendships, and in my priorities. I work for PEPY today, but like many others I came there first as a friend and a volunteer. I returned several times, then made the jump from being an impressed outsider to being a teammember.

Today, and everyday, I choose PEPY because it forces on me something unnatural---a pervasive (and I hope healthy) self criticism that encourages me to question our progress, our goals, our methods, and my own opinions within those areas. I am surrounded with a team of people that are passionately, desperately, engaged with making the world (and all the organizations, tour operators, and educators in it) better. Many people want the world to be better, but for me what makes PEPY different is that the team we have not only has the vision/passion, but also has the tenacity and the self-critical attitude that allow us to make mistakes, admit them, and move on.

I also choose PEPY because it also, selfishly, allows me a job that gives my life meaning and a feeling of accomplishment. I love seeing how we have grown, how the communities of Chanleas Dai have grown alongside, how our tours have become more responsible, and how our volunteers have changed as a result of the experiences theyhave

As a sustainable tourism professional living in Cambodia for over two years, I am very familiar with the work PEPY is doing to help rural Cambodians.

In my opinion, it is an extraordinary effort and should be heralded as one of the leading examples of voluntourism worldwide. It takes a lot of experience, brainpower and humility to constantly evaluate and re-evaluate projects the way they do, ensuring there's a balance between benefiting communities and keeping tourists happy so they leave Cambodia with lots of word-of-mouth advertising.

The PEPY initiative is one that must continue to grow, as the people of rural Cambodia need and deserve it.

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.

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

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-voluntourism-who-cares/

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Daniela Papi
PEPY Founder
www.pepyride.org

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 !

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

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

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

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.

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 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