Posts categorized under Lessons Learned

27 October 2010 ~ 7 Comments

Investing in People

We want to know that our money went to “the right place”. We have been taught to be fearful that our donations might aid corruption or not be used in the way we had intended. As such, it’s easier for us to build buildings than invest time in people through things like trainings & education […]

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01 October 2010 ~ 3 Comments

Is the “Common Good” good for you?

I am part of a panel at the Notre Dame Forum next week, and I was asked to write a piece about the “Common Good” as it relates to businesses and the work place.  Here is my take, from the perspective of growing PEPY. — When you work in the social sector, some are quick […]

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11 September 2010 ~ 0 Comments

When NGOs are incentivized to keep themselves in business

Last week I wrote a blog post complaining about volunteer sending organizations trying to “sell” their 17 year old volunteers to NGO organizations.  I then got a very well written response from 16 year old Naya Herman who is considering volunteering abroad and so I decided to answer her two questions in two new blog […]

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05 September 2010 ~ 0 Comments

Visualizing Change

Sometimes we need to be able to visualize the changes we want to see in the world or in our own lives in order to figure out how to get there.  Other times we can imagine the end goal, but we need help with the development of the process or the discipline to reach a […]

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01 September 2010 ~ 85 Comments

Do not ask me if your 17 year-olds can get paid to “volunteer” with us

UGH! I am SO fed up with these “pay to volunteer” organizations making money and taking in young gap-year kids and then “offering” them to us as employees where we “only need to cover their living expenses.”  REALLY?  You want me to take your unskilled 17 year-old, play babysitter for a few months as they […]

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18 August 2010 ~ 0 Comments

A cogent message

One of the things that I have learned over and over is that “PEPY is confusing to explain!” and we need to have a cogent message that conveys what we do. I can still work on being more concise, but here is how I have learned to describe the different areas in which we work: PEPY’s […]

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05 August 2010 ~ 31 Comments

How do YOU define “Responsible Travel”?

I recently wrote a piece about PEPY Tours on World Nomad’s website.  I am reposting it below as it relates to a lot of the themes of this blog: Responsible Giving, voluntourism, Cambodia, etc Fast Five Profile: PEPY Tours One of the PEPY riders on her bike for Cambodian based PEPY Tours 1. Who are […]

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