What motivates people to „quit“, to give up their professional life and to take a completely new path, although they are still „in the best years“ in terms of their professional careers and are still far away from retirement age?
We had already invited Arnd Weil from Bridge of Hope to tell us about his reasons for „stepping out“ at a PhiloBrunch in autumn 2018, with the title “Life was good to me; it is now time to give something back! Experience report of a dropout”. His foundation Bridge of Hope, which he co-founded, and his projects in Tanzania were still in their infancy. We continued to support him and his foundation and then published an update on his projects in spring 2019. We just wanted to see what happens next and of course also satisfy the curiosity of our readers and PhiloBrunch participants as well as our own.
We stayed in contact over the years and then, during an exchange of ideas at the end of 2020, we found that Arnd had so many interesting experiences through his foundation work in Tanzania, be it in direct exchange with people on site, be it in within the framework of the foundation’s work, be it in project work or in development cooperation, we quickly came to the conclusion that we had to post another article. This time, however, we decided to do a video podcast. The advantage is obvious: you can perceive Arnd and his message so much more directly.
The topic had to be something that was fully in line with the Ethica Rationalis DNA – the practical application of ethics. We wanted to find out what exactly Arnd and the Bridge of Hope are doing on site in Tanzania, especially in the field of education. But of course, we also wanted to know more about his personal experience in exchange with the local people. How do other peoples/cultures see themselves and the world? How do they deal with the daily challenges of life? What can we here in the West learn from a different view of things, often shaped by other living conditions, and thereby broaden our own horizons? And so we quickly came up with the title of the video podcast: “Poor and still happy ?!”. Whether the title is meant as a question (?) Or as an answer (!), Or even as both (?!), is up to the viewer to explore.
Here is what you can find in the podcast:
00:24 – Why did you decide to establish Bridge of Hope?
03:23 – What does applied ethics mean for you personally?
03:58 – Why’Bridge of Hope‘? Why did you make ‚Bridge of Hope‘ the focus of your life?
05:38 – ‚Poor and still happy ?!‘ Question or statement?
07:09 – Here in the western world, our own satisfaction with life often depends on external circumstances. What experiences have you had with the people in Tanzania?
08:52 – What role do beliefs play?
11:53 – What does ‚poor but still happy‘ mean?
13:08 – What role do technological innovations in education play in development aid? What does Bridge of Hope do in this context?
17:09 – Can you explain to us how you experienced the application of the Golden Rule in Tanzania?
19:32 – What can we in Germany learn from the people in Tanzania?
The Ethica Rationalis editorial team hopes you enjoy the video podcast!
