22 February 2010 ~ 11 Comments

Our Development Philosophy

Development

You can read more about each of our programs on the PEPY website, but I thought it might be more important to tell you the WHYs and HOWs of the decisions we make in our program design, rather than just talk about numbers of trainings and books we give out.

Our development philosophy is based on these core beliefs.  I will expand on each pillar below this week, about how we came to value this development philosophy, and how we are putting each into practice. In order to empower people to make changes in their own lives–to create our vision for a world where everyone has access to quality education, increased health and environmental awareness—we believe we need to:

Build capacity in people.

Partner with other organizations.

Share the lessons we have learned.

Allow flexibility in our programs.

Work with local government systems and power structures.

Overall, we believe that the changes we want to see in the world are only possible if we invest time in people.  Changes won’t result from giving things away, they won’t result from throwing more money at a problem, and they won’t happen by rushing to reach more and more places without committing the time to create high quality impacts.  We are just as impatient as the rest of the people looking to make change in the world, but what we have learned through our mistakes and our slow and small successes is that investing time in a team of passionate leaders will keep us on the path to reaching our vision.

Check back in over the course of the next week as I talk about the lessons we have learned around each of these pillars, and please add your thoughts, questions, and stories as well if you like!

  • Phill

    Daniella
    I agree with you 100%…Building capacity in people and investing in them is the best way to make any change in the world.

  • danielapapi

    Build capacity in people.

    We believe in the power of individuals to make positive changes in their communities. Our most effective programs are those that invest in individuals, and we’ve learned the hard way that improvements in infrastructure and resources without capacity development components have little impact. Check out some of these programs to see how PEPY is investing in developing Cambodian capacity:

    * Empowering communities to be involved in education.

    Our Primary School Development Plan Program is a three year plan in which PEPY staff work with local school support committees, school administrators, and teachers to create and implement community-driven solutions to school problems. At the end of the three year program, we expect School Support Committees to be advocates for education in their communities, to understand their rights and ministry commitments, to be able to identify and solve school problems, and to serve as the monitoring agents for government school budgets. In addition, teachers and school administrators will have opportunities for extensive training in areas they identify. In this way, PSDP strengthens schools in the specific ways they need.

    * Hire staff within our target areas.

    We hope in five years that individuals from the communities where we work are running the majority of our programs. At present, we have not achieved this goal and our Cambodian program managers are mostly from urban backgrounds where they were able to achieve higher education. To build local capacity, we have hired project assistants and program officers from the Chanleas Dai area who work directly with each program manager. Over two thirds of our staff are from Chanleas Dai and the surrounding area. The goal is to have them take over all positions in the future. Our whole team believes in this concept, and that’s why we believe it will work!

    * Support higher education

    All full-time PEPY staff who work with us for over 3 months are eligible for a full scholarship to higher education, and they are taking us up on it! On our team, we have Sela (Office Manager) getting his master’s in Tourism, Kong (Guard) learning English, Kimline (Accountant) getting her MBA, Riem Bon (Program Assistant) doing his BA, Thy (Driver) getting his BA, Rithy (Program Officer) getting his BA in English, Chim Seng (English teacher) getting his BA in English, Ratana (Education Program Manager) doing a Master’s in Education, and An Em (Program Officer) doing a BA as well. In addition, we are supporting 16 teachers and youth from the Kralanh/Chanleas Dai area to obtain their high school equivalency degree through a weekend program at the District of Education.

    * Building youth capacity

    Our Child-to-Child Program is all about capacity building, investing in young leaders, and helping them find creative solutions to problems they identify in their daily lives.

  • danielapapi

    They are all now on our website: http://pepyride.org/programs/pepy-philosophy Would love your thoughts!

  • Anonymous

    Build capacity in people.nnWe believe in the power of individuals to make positive changes in their communities. Our most effective programs are those that invest in individuals, and weu2019ve learned the hard way that improvements in infrastructure and resources without capacity development components have little impact. Check out some of these programs to see how PEPY is investing in developing Cambodian capacity:nn * Empowering communities to be involved in education.nnOur Primary School Development Plan Program is a three year plan in which PEPY staff work with local school support committees, school administrators, and teachers to create and implement community-driven solutions to school problems. At the end of the three year program, we expect School Support Committees to be advocates for education in their communities, to understand their rights and ministry commitments, to be able to identify and solve school problems, and to serve as the monitoring agents for government school budgets. In addition, teachers and school administrators will have opportunities for extensive training in areas they identify. In this way, PSDP strengthens schools in the specific ways they need.nn * Hire staff within our target areas. nnWe hope in five years that individuals from the communities where we work are running the majority of our programs. At present, we have not achieved this goal and our Cambodian program managers are mostly from urban backgrounds where they were able to achieve higher education. To build local capacity, we have hired project assistants and program officers from the Chanleas Dai area who work directly with each program manager. Over two thirds of our staff are from Chanleas Dai and the surrounding area. The goal is to have them take over all positions in the future. Our whole team believes in this concept, and thatu2019s why we believe it will work!nn * Support higher educationnnAll full-time PEPY staff who work with us for over 3 months are eligible for a full scholarship to higher education, and they are taking us up on it! On our team, we have Sela (Office Manager) getting his masteru2019s in Tourism, Kong (Guard) learning English, Kimline (Accountant) getting her MBA, Riem Bon (Program Assistant) doing his BA, Thy (Driver) getting his BA, Rithy (Program Officer) getting his BA in English, Chim Seng (English teacher) getting his BA in English, Ratana (Education Program Manager) doing a Masteru2019s in Education, and An Em (Program Officer) doing a BA as well. In addition, we are supporting 16 teachers and youth from the Kralanh/Chanleas Dai area to obtain their high school equivalency degree through a weekend program at the District of Education. nn * Building youth capacitynnOur Child-to-Child Program is all about capacity building, investing in young leaders, and helping them find creative solutions to problems they identify in their daily lives.

  • Anonymous

    Build capacity in people.nnWe believe in the power of individuals to make positive changes in their communities. Our most effective programs are those that invest in individuals, and weu2019ve learned the hard way that improvements in infrastructure and resources without capacity development components have little impact. Check out some of these programs to see how PEPY is investing in developing Cambodian capacity:nn * Empowering communities to be involved in education.nnOur Primary School Development Plan Program is a three year plan in which PEPY staff work with local school support committees, school administrators, and teachers to create and implement community-driven solutions to school problems. At the end of the three year program, we expect School Support Committees to be advocates for education in their communities, to understand their rights and ministry commitments, to be able to identify and solve school problems, and to serve as the monitoring agents for government school budgets. In addition, teachers and school administrators will have opportunities for extensive training in areas they identify. In this way, PSDP strengthens schools in the specific ways they need.nn * Hire staff within our target areas. nnWe hope in five years that individuals from the communities where we work are running the majority of our programs. At present, we have not achieved this goal and our Cambodian program managers are mostly from urban backgrounds where they were able to achieve higher education. To build local capacity, we have hired project assistants and program officers from the Chanleas Dai area who work directly with each program manager. Over two thirds of our staff are from Chanleas Dai and the surrounding area. The goal is to have them take over all positions in the future. Our whole team believes in this concept, and thatu2019s why we believe it will work!nn * Support higher educationnnAll full-time PEPY staff who work with us for over 3 months are eligible for a full scholarship to higher education, and they are taking us up on it! On our team, we have Sela (Office Manager) getting his masteru2019s in Tourism, Kong (Guard) learning English, Kimline (Accountant) getting her MBA, Riem Bon (Program Assistant) doing his BA, Thy (Driver) getting his BA, Rithy (Program Officer) getting his BA in English, Chim Seng (English teacher) getting his BA in English, Ratana (Education Program Manager) doing a Masteru2019s in Education, and An Em (Program Officer) doing a BA as well. In addition, we are supporting 16 teachers and youth from the Kralanh/Chanleas Dai area to obtain their high school equivalency degree through a weekend program at the District of Education. nn * Building youth capacitynnOur Child-to-Child Program is all about capacity building, investing in young leaders, and helping them find creative solutions to problems they identify in their daily lives.

  • Anonymous

    Build capacity in people.nnWe believe in the power of individuals to make positive changes in their communities. Our most effective programs are those that invest in individuals, and weu2019ve learned the hard way that improvements in infrastructure and resources without capacity development components have little impact. Check out some of these programs to see how PEPY is investing in developing Cambodian capacity:nn * Empowering communities to be involved in education.nnOur Primary School Development Plan Program is a three year plan in which PEPY staff work with local school support committees, school administrators, and teachers to create and implement community-driven solutions to school problems. At the end of the three year program, we expect School Support Committees to be advocates for education in their communities, to understand their rights and ministry commitments, to be able to identify and solve school problems, and to serve as the monitoring agents for government school budgets. In addition, teachers and school administrators will have opportunities for extensive training in areas they identify. In this way, PSDP strengthens schools in the specific ways they need.nn * Hire staff within our target areas. nnWe hope in five years that individuals from the communities where we work are running the majority of our programs. At present, we have not achieved this goal and our Cambodian program managers are mostly from urban backgrounds where they were able to achieve higher education. To build local capacity, we have hired project assistants and program officers from the Chanleas Dai area who work directly with each program manager. Over two thirds of our staff are from Chanleas Dai and the surrounding area. The goal is to have them take over all positions in the future. Our whole team believes in this concept, and thatu2019s why we believe it will work!nn * Support higher educationnnAll full-time PEPY staff who work with us for over 3 months are eligible for a full scholarship to higher education, and they are taking us up on it! On our team, we have Sela (Office Manager) getting his masteru2019s in Tourism, Kong (Guard) learning English, Kimline (Accountant) getting her MBA, Riem Bon (Program Assistant) doing his BA, Thy (Driver) getting his BA, Rithy (Program Officer) getting his BA in English, Chim Seng (English teacher) getting his BA in English, Ratana (Education Program Manager) doing a Masteru2019s in Education, and An Em (Program Officer) doing a BA as well. In addition, we are supporting 16 teachers and youth from the Kralanh/Chanleas Dai area to obtain their high school equivalency degree through a weekend program at the District of Education. nn * Building youth capacitynnOur Child-to-Child Program is all about capacity building, investing in young leaders, and helping them find creative solutions to problems they identify in their daily lives.

  • danielapapi

    Build capacity in people.

    We believe in the power of individuals to make positive changes in their communities. Our most effective programs are those that invest in individuals, and we’ve learned the hard way that improvements in infrastructure and resources without capacity development components have little impact. Check out some of these programs to see how PEPY is investing in developing Cambodian capacity:

    * Empowering communities to be involved in education.

    Our Primary School Development Plan Program is a three year plan in which PEPY staff work with local school support committees, school administrators, and teachers to create and implement community-driven solutions to school problems. At the end of the three year program, we expect School Support Committees to be advocates for education in their communities, to understand their rights and ministry commitments, to be able to identify and solve school problems, and to serve as the monitoring agents for government school budgets. In addition, teachers and school administrators will have opportunities for extensive training in areas they identify. In this way, PSDP strengthens schools in the specific ways they need.

    * Hire staff within our target areas.

    We hope in five years that individuals from the communities where we work are running the majority of our programs. At present, we have not achieved this goal and our Cambodian program managers are mostly from urban backgrounds where they were able to achieve higher education. To build local capacity, we have hired project assistants and program officers from the Chanleas Dai area who work directly with each program manager. Over two thirds of our staff are from Chanleas Dai and the surrounding area. The goal is to have them take over all positions in the future. Our whole team believes in this concept, and that’s why we believe it will work!

    * Support higher education

    All full-time PEPY staff who work with us for over 3 months are eligible for a full scholarship to higher education, and they are taking us up on it! On our team, we have Sela (Office Manager) getting his master’s in Tourism, Kong (Guard) learning English, Kimline (Accountant) getting her MBA, Riem Bon (Program Assistant) doing his BA, Thy (Driver) getting his BA, Rithy (Program Officer) getting his BA in English, Chim Seng (English teacher) getting his BA in English, Ratana (Education Program Manager) doing a Master’s in Education, and An Em (Program Officer) doing a BA as well. In addition, we are supporting 16 teachers and youth from the Kralanh/Chanleas Dai area to obtain their high school equivalency degree through a weekend program at the District of Education.

    * Building youth capacity

    Our Child-to-Child Program is all about capacity building, investing in young leaders, and helping them find creative solutions to problems they identify in their daily lives.

  • Anonymous

    They are all now on our website: http://pepyride.org/programs/pepy-philosophy Would love your thoughts!

  • Anonymous

    They are all now on our website: http://pepyride.org/programs/pepy-philosophy Would love your thoughts!

  • Anonymous

    They are all now on our website: http://pepyride.org/programs/pepy-philosophy Would love your thoughts!

  • danielapapi

    They are all now on our website: http://pepyride.org/programs/pepy-philosophy Would love your thoughts!