“The growth in population is very much bound up with poverty, and in turn poverty plunders the earth. When human groups are dying of hunger, they eat everything: grass, insects, everything. They cut down the trees, they leave the land dry and bare. All other concerns vanish. That’s why in the next thirty years the problems we call ‘environmental’ will be the hardest that humanity has to face.”

-14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso

This quote by the Dalai Lama may be referencing either Cambodia’s past or the grimmest prospect for its future. In 2000, Cambodia achieved rice self-sufficiency, but as the population grows, water, food, and land become critical issues. Water tables on every continent are falling, and water shortages mean food shortages and increased incidences of disease. Cambodians already suffer from the ill effects of unsuitable water used for growing crops, drinking, cooking, and cleanliness. They must use water for these needs although the water contains arsenic, e. coli, viruses, and other bacteria. According to Resource Development International, one in five Cambodian children will die before the age of five, and the number one killer is diarrhea caused by bacteria in water and on food.

The following article was written by PEPY intern Mandy Gatewood.

Today I went on a long bike ride to Choeng Ek, the Killing Fields. The ride was a really good one, through small communities on bumpy dirt roads, rice fields being harvested on either side of the road, water buffalo staring stupidly at me as I putter by, the Children's Auxiliary of the Hello Mafia jumping out to pepper me with "Hello!"s and "How are you!"s. I stopped to 'chat' with some Khmer kids who crawled out from under a wall with a plastic bag full of fish and a long bamboo pole -- they'd been fishing for lunch, looked like. They were covered in smears of white mud and were barefoot and shirtless. Maybe 8 yrs. old. They asked for some water and I gave it to them. They tried to take my bottle, so I pantomimed that they could have a few drinks (tip up the imaginary bottle, say, "Glug glug glug") but then I wanted it back. They gave it back. I took their picture and showed them. They liked it. Then they started asking me for money. "K'mee-un!" (Don't have.) Bye, kids.

Hi, PEPY friends! Sok sabai ch'num t'may! (Or in English, Happy New Year!)

My name's Mandy and I've been interning at PEPY for two months. I'm really happy to be here, and am super-excited to be leading the Southern Cambodia Cycling Adventure from 16-24 February. It's going to be a blast as we cycle from Phnom Penh to Takeo, Kep (my favorite city in Cambodia so far), Kampot, and the gorgeous beach town of Sihanoukville. We're going to stop at RDIC, Cambodian Children's Fund, and local schools to teach environmental lessons. We'll also go snorkeling and take a trip up "HAUNTED" Bokor Mountain!

“Study after study has shown that there is no effective development strategy in which women do not play a central role. When women are fully involved, the benefits can be seen immediately: families are healthier; they are better fed; their income, savings and reinvestment go up. And what is true of families is true of communities, and eventually of whole countries.”

- Kofi Annan, The New York Times. December 29th, 2002.

We are thrilled to be able to announce PEPY’s new partnership with The Asian University for Women (AUW) in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Starting this month, PEPY will be AUW’s in-country recruiting partner for a new scholarship program offered to young women throughout Asia. For the next 4 months our staff will be working with AUW to recruit at least 10 motivated Cambodian women for full scholarships to the BA/MA program.