Archive for the 'Doing Good' Category

On Burma and how we can help

Jeff May 7th, 2008

I’m sure you all have heard, especially if you’re making it to this blog, of the tragedy in Burma from Cyclone Nargis.  As bad as Hurricane Katrina was, Nargis has already killed ten times as many people, and there are many many more unaccounted for.  There are stories of entire towns, houses, people and all, being literally washed off the map.  Those left in its wake face even more hardship, now having to fend off disease, find food and clean water, and start putting their lives back together.

I think what strikes me most about this tragedy is how “unavoidable” it was.  There are some reports that the people were not notified well enough, but first of all, there is no clear way to contact everyone as its not like there is a TV or radio in every house.  Even so, I’m sure people are quite skeptical of the state run media by now, not to mention people often don’t abide by storm warnings, as we so often see in this country.  The truth is that the only thing that would have really saved lives is better infrastructure, and that does not come without a stronger and more developed economy.  That path was carved 30-40 years ago.  So say what you will about the regime there (and we have), but there was not much they could have done to prevent this tragedy.

What they can do, however, is address the aftermath with conviction and honesty.  Their people need all the aid they can get and there are people around the world willing to give it to them.  This is where their actions most offend me.  So far, they are making things rather difficult because of bureaucracy.  The only place to get a visa into the country is through the office in Yangon, which, as you may imagine, is not very functional at the moment.  I imagine this will find an expedient resolution very soon, and there are already a number of amazing organizations already in the country doing their best to provide necessities to the people of Burma.  The Network for Good has a great post about the best ways to start helping the people put their lives back together.  Please do what you can to help the Burmese people get back on their feet so they can go get their democratic leaders (in 2011 … if its not ignored this time).

Want to Help Educate Kids in Cambodia?

Theresa January 23rd, 2008

Today Jeff and I received an email from a friend of ours from college. Maryann was my roommate during the summer I interned in DC, and throughout college we spent many afternoons together watching Rice baseball. Since graduation, she’s been doing amazing things–teaching English in Japan as part of the JET program, working as staff abroad the Peace Boat, and most recently dedicating herself to PEPY, an organization in Cambodia that merges voluntourism with a mission to improve the lives of young people through education. Maryann is a dynamic person—the kind of person who doesn’t just talk about things but gets them done—and PEPY is a fabulous organization. (I’ll personally vouch for it’s credibility, but go ahead and check out their website and look it up for yourself if you want).

Anyhow, Maryann’s email, which I’m going to share below, is a request for help. PEPY is trying to raise money to expand their programs, and if you donate through this link— http://www.networkforgood.org/pca/Badge.aspx?BadgeId=109979 —by the end of January, you can help PEPY not only through your donation but also by upping PEPY’s chances of winning an additional $50,000 dollars. Imagine how much $50,000 can do in Cambodia. Imagine how much your donation can do.

I’m not usually one to pass on things like this or solicit people for donations, but I think this is a worthwhile project, and I believe some of you may be interested in helping out. (If you can’t give by the end of January, I’m sure they’d be happy for donations any time. Also, be sure to check out their voluntourism programs and consider joining them for what promises to be an amazing trip.) As Jeff and I are especially interested in organizations doing good work in areas which we plan to travel to, we will certainly be making a donation to PEPY.

The email:
Dear friends and family,

Your 10 dollar donation might be able to earn PEPY Programs $50,000…. can you help? No, this is not a Cambodian magic trick, but a contest for whoever can get the highest NUMBER (not amount) of online donations ($10 or more) before the end of the month. The donations have to come through this link to count

http://www.networkforgood.org/pca/Badge.aspx?BadgeId=109979

I hope you know its not my style nor PEPY’s to bug people for funding. BUT, we really think we can do this and we need your help!

If you have $10 to spare, please help us out right now by going to the above link and shooting your credit card numbers into cyberspace! This contest only lasts 8 more days so it has to be soon!

If you can’t donate right now, you can still be a huge help for us by sending this message to 5-10 of your friends and asking them to donate as well. We need to get a few hundred more donations to be in the running for this, and if half the people on this list can donate $10 and get a few friends to as well, it’s very possible.

Plus, the $10 or more that you donate through this Network For Good link will go to support PEPY’s educational programs in Cambodia, so no matter what, your efforts will be doing good! Just a little catch-up for those who aren’t in the PEPY know. Besides being my new life/job in Cambodia (yes, along with grad school still, don’t worry), its also experiencing some fabulous growing pains at the moment. So many new exciting ideas and programs in our heads! We are in the midst of planning meetings this week for our one, three and five year plans, and to give you some heads up on bigger projects in the pipeline, we have been discussing:

- purchasing land in Chanleas Dai near original PEPY Ride School in order to set up a community based development organization. The office housed there would have PEPY Program Managers working on community and parent education, school educational programs, environmental and health initiatives (designed by RDIC.org), and income generating training programs. They would also work with an extensive team of community leaders hired to disseminate this work into each village. (you are the first to hear this! we have been discussing this week - more to follow!)

- working with RDIC to bring their Sesame Street-esque educational series to 100+ schools across Cambodia. By working with RDIC as they hire and train local educators to visit schools monthly, equipping them with projectors and solar powered batteries with which to show each classroom of students we will help bring social, health, environmental, and literacy issues to light for communities around Cambodia. Each of the 27 minute episodes in the 13 part series (there will be a new series produced each year), also includes an educational workbook and the students are able to do lessons and activities both before and after seeing the shows.

- we are also trying to help RDIC get the $7000 per episode raised to get this first series on TV. We are confident that once these high quality animated/puppet shows are on the air, sponsors will be knocking each other over to get their name and commercial into the allotted 3 minutes of commercial time as, as already proven in testing these videos at schools and communities including The PEPY Ride School, these videos are very popular among kids and parents alike as there is NOTHING like this in Khmer.

….. and more. These are all still on the drawing board, but keep up with us over the next few months as, with our new Cambodian Country Manager, Aline Meas, who brings seven years of experience as the Executive Director of a local NGO, we are on a great path and lots of developments are in the works!

Thank you for supporting our work and please remember to donate $10 through this link, or pass it on to friends if you can!

http://www.networkforgood.org/pca/Badge.aspx?BadgeId=109979

Many thanks for your belief in me, in PEPY, and in our team and big hugs to all,

Maryann

—————-
Maryann Bylander
Interim Executive Director

maryann (at) pepyride (dot) org
www.pepyride.org

PEPY
Phone (US): 914-458-4262
Office (Cambodia):023-222-804
Cell (Cambodia): 012 189 2120

Spreading the Holiday Cheer

Jeff December 26th, 2007

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all our loyal readers (and lurkers)! Yes it’s a day late, but the big day is always a little busy. All in all, it was a grand day with family and friends. Santa must’ve adapted to the internet age and reading our blog, because we got a number of things to help us on our adventure. Sporks, duct tape, silk sleeping bags, a gorillapod, and a new compact digital camera all found their way under the tree at the Dowell’s (I’ve always been amazed at how Santa can find you even when you travel). In other exciting news, we now have corporate sponsorship to go gorilla trekking! Good news gorillas! Thanks mom!

In keeping with the spirit of the holidays, we’ve been putting a bit of money toward our charities of choice. You probably won’t be surprised to learn that we tend to support organizations that are effective in assisting the developing world. We want to share three of them that we strongly support with all of you:

Kiva.org: Populizing the nobel winning Grameen Bank (another great organization) microloan style of developing world investment, this organization allows you to loan money to entrepreneurs in places as far ranging as Tajikistan, Uganda, Bolivia, and Samoa. Most loans are about $1000 over about one year, though the brilliance of Kiva is that each loan is put together by many lenders loaning $25 each. And the best part is you get your money back (without interest naturally), so you can then send it to another entrepreneur in need a year down the line. We have recently completed our first two loans (a co-op in Ecuador and a soap maker in Sierra Leone) and have reissued the money to a restaurant in Uganda and a shopkeeper in Afghanistan, and added a beauty salon in Nicaragua and a general store in Peru). The site has a lot of social aspects, and you can easily track the progress of your loan and see it at work. The link up there is a referral link, but we don’t get anything else out of it other than the satisfaction of knowing how many people sign up and donate through us.

Doctors Without Borders: Most likely you have heard of Doctors Without Borders. This Nobel Peace Prize winning organization provides health care to those who most need it: people affected by wars, disasters, or simply lack of access. The doctors, nurses, and other professionals have the courage to give up everything and put themselves in harm’s way, and no regard is paid to politics, religion, or other such factors. The need for medical care is the sole determining factor for where Doctors Without Borders goes, and often they’re the only people to go to some of the world’s most needy and dangerous places.

Charity Begins: An organization that we’ve had contact with in the past that coordinates delivery of aid supplies to developing countries. You can help by donating goods, delivery time, or money. We plan on being couriers for them when we travel, so even if you’re not headed anywhere, maybe you can donate something for us or other travelers to transport. Check their website for a list of desired items.

Those are our favorites, and we’d love it if we’ve convinced some of you to support them as well. But we’re always looking for great causes, so what are some of your favorites? Who do you think does great work in the world (or even your local neighborhood)?

Travel That Benefits Others

Theresa October 27th, 2007

Traveling is a wonderous experience. It opens our eyes to new ways of thinking and living. We meet amazing people and see breathtaking sites. But we also come across things that are difficult. We encounter poverty, and not just beggar-on-the-street poverty. We encounter poverty that is desperate, that is so entrenched that it seems impossible to overcome. When this happens, we realize just how fortunate we are. At the same time, we often feel so powerless. What can we do to make a difference?

Recently, I came across an organization, Charity Begins, helping travelers to do something productive–deliver needed goods to non-profits in developing countries throughout the world. Here’s how it works: A few months before you take a trip to a developing nation, you contact Charity Begins. They then get in touch with a non-profit at your destination, gather supplies needed by this group, and deliver the supplies to your door. Then you take the supplies with you to the airport, check them with your luggage, pick them up when you arrive, and deliver them to the charity. Kind of cool, right? You literally become a link between worlds.

So consider it next time you’re traveling to the developing world. Or if you’re not traveling, help out by donating needed goods. After all, charity begins at home.