The PEPY Team Journal

Yut started working with PEPY as a temple guide at the end of last year and was instantly a hit with tour participants.  His calm manner and imaginative way of explaining things captured the attention of all those he led through the famous temples of Angkor, and his background in Buddhism gave a deeper understanding of Cambodia’s prevailing religion.  From the age of 13 to 25, Yut lived as a Theravada Buddhist monk in both Cambodia and Thailand, where he studied at a Buddhist university in Chiang Mai.  His experiences as a monk make for fascinating anecdotes and his analogies, ideas, and Buddhist teachings have played heavily into his trip leading with PEPY.  On a recent trip of high school students visiting from the United States, Yut explained the Noble Eightfold Path and taught the students one “way” per day.  The students keyed into this idea and were keen to learn more about the “way of the day” and put them into practice.  With this positive response, Yut’s creative teachings have become more and more a prevalent part of PEPY’s educational tours and have inspired a new type of tour altogether.

While we in the West are probably most familiar with Tibetan Buddhism, PEPY’s Buddhism tours offer participants the opportunity to discover and learn about one of the religion’s oldest schools, Theravada Buddhism, against the beautiful and diverse backdrop of contemporary Cambodia.  Participants can learn about the Noble Eightfold Path (8 ways in 8 days), see how Buddhist and Cambodian traditions have intertwined to become today’s customs and culture, and experience Cambodia through its spectacular temples and its peaceful monks.  While Buddhism is most widely considered an Asian religion, these tours will teach participants about how many basic Buddhist principles can be applied in daily life, in the Western world.

The tours will include visits to the world famous Angkorian temples for a chance to learn about the conflicts in history between Hinduism and Buddhism, rural homestays in a community-based project near both ancient and practicing Buddhist temples, as well as opportunities to learn about NGO work in Cambodia, and think about how this plays into and is sometimes a part of the religious influences that are present in Cambodia.  All the while, Yut will share his knowledge of Buddhism and lead participants in self reflection exercises and group discussions to really get a grasp of Buddhist teachings.  The aim of these tours is for participants to walk away with a deeper understanding of one of the lesser known schools of Buddhist thought, a richer and more diverse experience of Cambodian culture and history, and a new outlook to take home.

Keep an eye on the PEPY Tours website over the coming weeks for more information on these tours!

Do you want to learn more about education and development in Cambodia?  Interested in contributing to a dynamic team?  Read more to find out if a PEPY internship is for you!  PEPY is constantly seeking interns for a variety of positions.  If you share our PEPY Powers, and have the ability to commit 6 months of time or more in Cambodia, let us know!

Currently, we have nine internship positions available.  For those with specific technical or IT skills, we’re looking for interns to help build the capacity of our Cambodian staff, assisting with Web Design and Graphic Design.  Previous interns in these positions have played critical roles in increasing PEPY’s online presence, and have helped train our staff to be able to both write and graphically create new early literacy titles for our PEPY Books Program.

For people with skills or interest in media or communications, PEPY offers a variety of communications-based internships, with specific positions in Social Media, Donor Relations, and Communications.  These roles work closely with PEPY’s Chief Communications officer to further PEPY’s mission and exposure.

For those more interested in business and organizational structure, we have opportunities for you as well!  Consider our Salesforce and /or Small Business Internships to help us optimize our funding models.   

Lastly, we have specific opportunities to help organize two PEPY related-events here in Cambodia this fall: the first TEDx Phnom Penh talks and the 5^th annual Angkor Wat Bike Race.  If you love event planning, networking, and logistical coordination, check out the websites for these events and apply to help us make them possible.  PEPY would not be where we are today without the enthusiastic talents of our past interns, so we look forward to future interns’ contributions and passion for making a difference!