Organization

PEPY Empowering Youth


PEPY Empowering Youth is a Cambodian nonprofit in Siem Reap province that trains rural young people and supports them through high school, college and work.[1] It began in 2005 as a charity bicycle ride and is now led by a team of local Cambodians, many of whom came through its own training.[2][3] Its programs start in high school and reach through university scholarships to support for young entrepreneurs.[1][3]

History

The founders, Daniela Papi, Greta Arnquist and Maryann Bylander, met while teaching English in Japan on the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme. In 2004 they set out to raise US$16,000 with American Assistance for Cambodia and Japan Relief for Cambodia, and they reached the goal in three months.[2] In 2005 they organized a charity bicycle ride and the first volunteer trip, and the first school funded by PEPY opened. That first ride brought 35 people from 13 countries to Cambodia and raised about US$100,000.[2] The project was known as the PEPY Ride, and its name stood for "Protect the Earth, Protect Yourself." It later used the name "Promoting Education, empowering Youth."[2] One partner organization gives 2007 as the founding year.[3]

Papi stayed in Cambodia after the first ride, and Bylander later joined her to build PEPY into a registered development organization. The founders found that schools had supplies but lacked trained teachers and administrators. After early mistakes with aid designed from outside, PEPY began to consult local communities before starting programs.[2] It worked from Chanleas Dai, a rural district about 65 kilometers (40 miles) from Siem Reap, and was registered in both Cambodia and the United States.[2]

By 2012 PEPY's work in Siem Reap schools covered Khmer literacy, school partnerships, supplemental education and community-based education. Khmer literacy classes became part of teacher training. Through Sahakoom Apeewaht Sala ("Communities Developing Schools"), community members raised funds for a shared pond for sanitation and drinking water and a shaded reading shelter for students.[2] With Cambodia P.R.I.D.E. and One Laptop per Child, PEPY lent XO laptops to every student at a junior high school it helped build.[2] In 2009 it placed classroom libraries, with Khmer books it produced, in 10 rural schools serving 3,000 students and 50 government teachers. The same year Dubai Cares funded and built three partner schools in Chanleas Dai, with room for 700 students.[2] A separate for-profit company, PEPY Tours, ran cycling and educational tours for visitors and raised funds for the organization.[2] PEPY also ran online campaigns, among them "Power of 10" in 2010 and "Power of 10 – Dream Big" in 2011, which asked supporters to give US$10.[2]

The scholarship program began in 2012.[4] Sources differ on when PEPY became a local organization: CO-OPERAID gives registration as a Cambodian NGO in 2014, and the Cooperation Committee for Cambodia gives 2015, when PEPY became PEPY Empowering Youth.[3][5] It is registered with the Ministry of Interior as number 162.[5] In 2018 PEPY received the NGO Governance and Professional Practice certification of compliance. The government recognized its Learning Center certificate in 2019, and in 2020 PEPY joined the Child Safe Alliance network of 3PC.[1]

During the COVID-19 pandemic PEPY moved all its classes online through YouTube and Zoom. It estimated that a quarter of its students and alumni lost jobs in tourism.[6] On June 26, 2021, it held "Our Story," an online benefit concert with musicians from Germany, the United Kingdom, Morocco and Kenya.[7] As of 2026 its executive director was Sarakk Rith.[5]

Programs

The Dream Management Program is an elective course for rural high school students in grades 10 to 12, taught with local teachers. It covers goal-setting, mentorship and networking, and prepares students for higher education, vocational training or work.[1][8] The Learning Center Program is a one-year course in English, computer skills and soft skills. Graduates receive a certificate that shows the skills they gained.[1][6] Most students arrive with little access to technology and limited English.[6] The Writing Through workshops bring creative writing to the Learning Center each year, and in 2022 students helped produce a poetry magazine from that work.[7]

The Youth Innovators' and Incubator Program teaches soft skills and information technology to young entrepreneurs, who go on to start social enterprises or strengthen existing workplaces.[1] PEPY counts more than 500 young Cambodians trained in entrepreneurship and digital literacy since 2013.[7] With the volunteer group Team4Tech, it planned the Future is Bright computer lab in 2021, and in 2022 twelve Zendesk volunteers helped plan the launch of its Community Computer Lab.[6]

Scholarship for Higher Education

The Scholarship for Higher Education Program supports rural young people from low-income families at university or vocational school.[1] Recipients come mainly from Kralanh district, where PEPY's stated goal is to raise the share of Kralanh High School graduates who reach skilled jobs.[4][5] Scholars move to Siem Reap for their studies and also attend classes at the Learning Center in English, computer skills, soft skills and career mentoring.[4] The program pays educational fees and study supplies and provides each scholar with a bicycle, a computer and health care.[4] The organization's own site lists tuition, health care, mentorship, a living allowance and training.[1] Scholars also give talks in their home communities on education, work and life skills.[4]

Applicants must have finished grade 12. They are chosen through interviews for their academic record, financial need, commitment to education, passion for change and record of social action. Awards are made each year.[4][9] By September 2014, 22 students had received scholarships, and PEPY planned to add 40 more from Kralanh over the next 18 months.[4] Its funder, the Phoenix Foundation, says nearly all scholars graduate and find meaningful work.[9] In 2025 a team of 14 Zendesk volunteers, working with Team4Tech, designed tools to make applying easier for rural students with few devices and weak connections. The tools support Khmer, and they include an offline application and a Telegram bot for sending documents.[8]

Community

PEPY reports reaching more than 3,100 young people through government schools, community members and local leaders in Chanleas Dai Commune.[5] Its office is in Kouk Chak Commune, Siem Reap District.[5] It takes volunteers on site and online, hosts school groups at its headquarters for learning exchanges, and runs an ambassador program for supporters who hold events and raise funds.[1] The Phoenix Foundation supports all parts of its operations, and CO-OPERAID began working with PEPY in 2023 through the YISI project.[9][3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 PEPY Empowering Youth, home page
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 WIPO IP Advantage, Empowering a generation via intangible assets (2012)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 CO-OPERAID, PEPY Empowering Youth, Cambodia
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 PEPY Empowering Youth, Scholarship program update (September 2014)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Cooperation Committee for Cambodia, NGO database, PEPY Empowering Youth
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Team4Tech, Supporting technology skills in Cambodia with PEPY (July 2021)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 PEPY Empowering Youth, Media highlights
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Team4Tech, Skilled volunteers from Zendesk generate scholarship platform prototypes for PEPY (September 2025)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Phoenix Foundation, Who we fund (2020)
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This page was last edited on 26 September 2026, at 23:25.