khmer sources

5.30 a.m. This has to be the best time of day in rural Cambodia. The sun peeks its way into a perfect sky and teams of oxen kick red dust clouds into the air, snorting as six Lycra-clad foreigners on loaded bicycles appear through the morning mist; the first annual 2006 PEPY ride from Siem Reap to Saigon has hit town.

One goal of the five-week ride was to spread the PEPY name and message, Protect the Earth, Protect Yourself. The chosen mode of transportation, the bicycle, is one means to this end. In Cambodia, the organization combined bicycles with an education program that pedaled its way from school to school across the country.

PEPY is an NGO aimed at improving the situation of communities in Cambodia through supporting educational programs, which place emphasis on the relationship between the environment and our health. By organizing and managing volunteer trips to Cambodia, PEPY encourages travel focusing on social responsibility and accountability. The organization also supports non-profit organizations (NPOs) that focus their efforts on education, health and the environment.

This first ever PEPY ride began in January, winding its way on a six-week, 1,600km journey through Cambodia on an ‘education-through-action’ campaign to bring environmental and health education to the most rural areas.

The six PEPY riders hailed from Canada, USA, New Zealand and Finland, all brought together by a love for Cambodia and its people. They also shared the slightly crazed personality that pushes you along when the sun is blistering hot by 6 a.m.

The team wound their way from Siem Reap around the Tonle Sap Lake, and down toward Phnom Penh. They sustained only two punctures and some other minor bike problems on the road, despite the giant potholes south of Siem Reap and the dust that could not be flushed out of gears and chains. The worst ailment to hit the riders was a nasty stomach bug.
New Zealander Alice Beban says 99 percent of the time cycling is heaven.
"But there were a couple of days I had stomach cramps most of the night and didn’t think I’d be able to get out of bed. That’s when it’s incredible to have a team behind you—we all got each other to the end somehow," Beban says.
As the team left the capital and made their way down the Mekong River to Vietnam, the weather became even hotter.

"Nothing so far had quite prepared us for ‘real’ biking: blistering heat, incessant uphills and any brief downhill runs [were] thwarted by headwinds that brought us to an almost standstill," recalls Julia Davies, a teacher from England.
Keeping hydrated in the tough conditions was a challenge, but bunches of green coconuts and fruit shakes are never far away in Cambodia, and the riders paused every few hours for a drink stop and a meal of rice and noodles.
Each day began early, with a 60 to 100km ride along rough roads, stopping off at rural primary schools in the afternoon to deliver environmental and health education lessons.
Cambodia suffers from serious environmental problems, including logging, poaching and over-fishing, as well as health issues such as mosquito and water-borne diseases, and the spread of HIV/AIDS. The PEPY riders believe that giving young people the education and tools to effect change is the best long-term solution to turning around our environmentally destructive lifestyle.
Co-founder American Daniela Papi says she is passionate about the PEPY cause.
"Education is the key to change. Any improvement we make in this world is going to come through teaching," Papi says.

The PEPY team worked closely with local NGO M’lop Baitong to design activities that students could relate to and learn from. Lessons involved language games and bilingual books about the relationship between humans and the world around us. The books remained at the schools so teachers could continue the activities.
The ride was not just about teaching; the six cyclists also visited a number of organizations to learn about current issues in the country and plan for future projects. One experience affected all the riders particularly deeply, a visit to Steang Meanchay, Phnom Penh’s garbage dump, where hundreds of people eke out an existence by scavenging amongst the trash.

PEPY co-founder Greta Arnquist says she and the group walked through the trash and met some of the kids who’d spent their lives in the dump.
"It didn’t take long for the scene to grasp every inch of our bodies and compel us to run far away ... we didn’t run," Arnquist says.

The PEPY ride is one of a whole raft of exciting projects set up by the PEPY volunteer organization. Americans Daniela Papi and Greta Arnquist founded PEPY two years ago while teaching English in Japan. The organization has grown in leaps and bounds and now includes members from all over the world, who have banded together to raise over $50,000 to support education in Cambodia. Their success is a testament to the power of two women’s enthusiasm.
"It’s incredible. In one year we have grown from two people sitting around dreaming, to over 30 people working on PEPY daily, and thousands more who support our work," says Papi.

PEPY is involved in a number of environmental and health projects in Cambodia, including the support of a community school and vocational training centre in Kralahn near Siem Reap, and a health center for children (part of the Cambodian Children’s Fund orphanage) in Phnom Penh. PEPY has invested heavily in teacher training, environmental education resources, including a shade house and organic farming program, and a satellite and computers for the school in Kralahn. The group also funds international projects, such as a fundraising ride in flood-affected parts of New Orleans.

It is humbling to think that in just six weeks, the PEPY ride touched the lives of over 2,000 children. However, this is simply the start; PEPY is expanding all the time in exciting new directions. There will be further volunteer trips in August this year and a second PEPY ride in January next year. Please consider joining a future ride or volunteer trip. You don’t need to be a cyclist; all that it takes is enthusiasm and an adventurous spirit.
If you are interested in participating in a PEPY volunteer trip, have further questions or would like to donate to PEPY.