PEPY Tours, an adventure and educational tour operator, announces plans to fund the construction of a junior high school in Cambodia. PEPY will allocate proceeds from its 2009 trips to help build the first-ever secondary school in Chanleas Dai Commune, a rural area of Siem Reap Province. Through fundraising and donations, participants who join one of PEPY's tours in 2009 will support the construction of the school as well as PEPY's other educational programs.With seven primary schools in the commune and no permanent junior high building, secondary education is simply not viable for hundreds of students. For most, migration to Thailand or farm work are more reasonable options than biking two hours a day to the closest junior high school. The primary school graduation rate has been steadily increasing over the past few years in Chanleas Dai, but for many motivated students, 6th grade is the end of formal education, as they simply do not have the resources to continue.
PEPY has worked with the community to build two temporary open-air classrooms built of wood and thatched palm, but the basic structure is too small to house all of the students and will not last through the upcoming rainy season. After meeting with school district officials, teachers, and community members to discuss secondary school options, PEPY committed to funding the new five-room school building. The school is scheduled to open in late 2009 and will house more than 150 students in 7th, 8th, and 9th grades.
On December 22, 2008, local contractors and community members broke ground on the new school building, which will cost nearly $70,000 to complete. PEPY tour participants will co-fund the project and some will volunteer alongside community members and contractors to help construct the new building. PEPY is seeking other partners for financial support to ensure the school is finished in time for the beginning of the school year in October 2009.
ATTA Member PEPY Tours offers unique trips ranging from high intensity multi-week bike trips to weeklong volunteer projects. Each trip is designed to give participants an introduction to development work in Cambodia through hands on experience, and allows participants to "live what they give," by volunteering with the organizations that their financial contributions support.
The PEPY Ride's co-founder, Daniela Papi says, "Many people donate in support of development projects they will never visit, but with PEPY, you can go where your money goes. By joining one of our trips, you see firsthand the difference you are making."
The PEPY Ride was formed in December 2005, beginning a tradition of bringing participants from around the world to Cambodia to actively participate in adventure volunteer tours and live the PEPY motto: "Adventurous Living. Responsible Giving." To date, PEPY has raised over $700,000 for development projects in Cambodia.
For more information, to make a donation, or to sign up for any of the upcoming
trips, please visit http://www.pepyride.org.
The PEPY Ride is a registered non-profit organization in both Cambodia and the USA 501(c)3# 20-4739485
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