Quit Corperate for Global Social Justice
E21- Your Mountain is Waiting
Thomas, from England, and I met at my first “hangover ceviche” which was always the Sunday morning after a late night of dancing and drinking around Arequipa. He mentioned to the table that a wonderful coworker was teaching him Spanish, and it was refreshing to hear another English speaker find it important to learn the countries language, while so many refuse to put in the effort. Shouting over clinking plates, in between bites of octopus in chimichurri and lime-soaked fish, I asked what he was doing in Arequipa and he mentioned that he was working for a non-for profit called HOOP that focused on afterschool programs for underprivileged children in the outskirts of the city. I loved his straight-forward sensibility about social justice as if it should be a logical default for everyone to practice. Together, we discuss why he chose to leave his corporate job to work for an NGO Abroad, how living in Peru had changed him, and how he had translated his privilege in the world and chooses to use it for the benefit of others.
In this episode, we discuss
Why he left his corporate job to travel and decided to work in social justice
Why he decided to travel the world and what that provided him with
Why he decided to unite work and travel
Why he decided to work in Peru
His thoughts on the “white savior” complex
His thoughts on working in an NGO vs a corporation
The costs and benefits of NGOs in developing countries
What is HOOP and their social justice focus
What it is like to work and teach children
What it is like to work with people from other cultures
How living in Peru has changed him
Here is more information about HOOP if you would like to work or volunteer with them! It attracts the gems of the world :D