Some of you probably didn't even know it, but every time you play you
are donating 500 yen to The Pepy Ride, a fine charity working in Cambodia
whose aims are;
1) To support rural Cambodian communities through greater educational opportunities and increased access to education
2) To encourage adventure travel which emphasizes social action, responsibility and accountability.
Anyway, here is a note from Daniela at Pepyride (an ALT Tournament veteran as well!)
The All-Japan Soccer Tournament has worked to support PEPY for the past two years, and we are excited to let you know
that while you have been playing the sport you love, you have also changed
lives in Cambodia. To date, all of you All-Japan Soccer Tournament
participants have raised over 700,000 yen for PEPY
and have helped to build a brighter future for children in rural
Cambodia. PEPY was started by JETs in 2005 and has
worked to build two schools in Cambodia, teach English and computer classes,
and has now started a Khmer reading initiative which will help combat
illiteracy in Cambodia's rural communities. This year, with your help,
the All-Japan Soccer Tournament can help strengthen these programs further,
provide additional educational resources and greater educational access to the
541 students in the remote village of Chanleas Dai (location of the original PEPY Ride School), and help decrease the widespread problem of
illiteracy in Cambodia. In addition to the school programs described
above and the Bike-to-School Program, which provides bicycles to graduating
sixth graders as a means of accessing secondary school, PEPY
also organizes adventure and volunteer tours in Cambodia. These tours
provide a chance to give back while you travel, and sometimes also include a
pick-up soccer match with the students at a local Siem Reap orphanage :-)
If you are interested in finding out more about PEPY's
projects or joining a tour, check them out at www.pepyride.org. We hope you and your team will help
us to continue proudly supporting PEPY's work. For
just 500 yen, each of us has a chance to change a child's life. We thank
you for joining us in support of this important cause.
Daniela Papi
