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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
March 13, 2007
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| February 8, 2007 |
“Adventurous Living, Responsible Giving”: PEPY Transforms Ordinary Tourism into Life-Changing 'Voluntourism'” – Daniela Papi |
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| Falling in love with Cambodia inspired Daniela Papi to start a non-profit bike tour enterprise there |
For many people, traveling can be disconcerting mix of exhilaration and emptiness. On the one hand, it offers the chance to try new food, witness fascinating customs, shop at lively and colorful marketplaces, and experience firsthand the magnificence of sites such as Angkor Wat or the Taj Mahal. On the other hand, it often exposes travelers to the great poverty and hardships of others. Sitting down to a scrumptious meal in a beautiful scenic spot, but having one's every mouthful eyed at longingly by a child beggar is an unsettling situation for many tourists. So how can one experience the best of another country, without leaving others mired in its worst social ills? Through “voluntourism” – combining tourism with volunteering, says 28-year old Daniela Papi of PEPY, a social enterprise she started one year ago in Cambodia that is helping to rebuild the country's devastated education system through biking tours. Ms. Papi joined part of the 55th voyage to talk about voluntourism and to share her inspiring story with others. |
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| Organizations like PEPY help close the gap between tourists and local people. Photo courtesy of Daniela Papi |
“After university, I worked at a consulting company, where I was looking at data on a computer for 12 hours a day. And I never saw the product that was made, I never met the person that was using the product, and never met the person that was providing this data,” Ms. Papi said. Unfulfilled by her job, she moved to Japan and found her calling as a teacher. During her vacation periods, she traveled and participated in volunteer activities that she could tell her students about later. “On the trips, I realized the power that voluntourism had on people – how it changed their lives,” she said. In 2002, she traveled to Cambodia and learned that the country's education system had been destroyed by the Khmer Rouge's systematic purge of intellectuals in a war that left 2,000,000 Cambodians dead. Wondering what she could do to help, Ms. Papi hit on the idea of organizing a fundraising bike ride after participating in a similar ride in Japan. She set a goal of raising $16,000 on behalf of a new school, got help making a web page, and used the page to invite people to join her. |
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| Daniela and her PEPY ride teams have helped build schools that give thousands of children new opportunities in life |
The ride was so successful in its goal – and in providing an unbeatable combination of friendship, learning, volunteering, and cultural experience that it quickly led to the creation of PEPY, which stands for “Protect the Environment. Protect Yourself,” because the rides are eco-friendly, and they raise awareness about the relationship between health and the environment in addition to raising money for education. PEPY is a social enterprise that combines non-profit work with business, explained Ms. Papi. “People pay to come on a tour, and they fundraise a certain amount of money that goes into our donations and grants section,” she said. “In this way, we don't have to beg for money as much as other non-profits, because we have a for profit-enterprise built into our model.” In only one year, PEPY has raised 200,000 dollars, built two schools, taught lessons to nearly 3,000 children, and allowed hundreds of people to use their diverse skills on behalf of others. It also inspired participants to start their own PEPY rides in other countries and to continue sharing their time, skills, and resources with others. Many described it as the best experience of their lives. |
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On the 55th voyage, Daniela (center) provided invaluable insight and encouragement to other young people interested in combining travel with social responsibility |
Despite PEPY's grand success, Ms. Papi remains humble – even self-effacing. “I don't have any special skills,” she insists. “I'm a very bad speller, so I use a spell check. I never studied finance or accounting, so I have to call my friends all the time to ask for help.” She never even imagined that she would one day be running her own overseas social enterprise while still in her 20s. “I'm hoping everyone will understand that this is not a huge accomplishment that was done by people who studied non-profit management for a long time,” she said. “It was just done by people who chose to do one thing with passion.” Inspiration, belief in, and love for what you are doing are the key ingredients to forming your own social enterprise, she taught. For more information about PEPY, visit – www.pepyride.org |
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