© Hayley Allam
Marianne Donven shows how a career pivot can lead to purpose – helping refugees rebuild their lives through employment at Chiche.
Can good karma pass through a podcast episode? Are you interested in making the world a better place in a meaningful way? Do you like stories of personal transformation? If so, this is the episode for you!
This week I sat down with humanitarian Marianne Donven to hear her story of how she went from a Steel Trader to a Single Mom to a Humanitarian. After several years working and volunteering at the Red Cross and Haribo, she now works as the manager for the charming Lebanese restaurant Chiche.
Chiche employs over seventy refugees from all over the world. Although the food is actually delicious (and since I'm married to a half Lebanese man, I feel qualified to comment), for Marianne, the food is really just a means to an end. To provide employment and dignity for all her employees who survive incredible hardship by coming here and searching for a better life.
Marianne is actually Luxembourgish, and after her studies she felt lucky to get a job with Arcelor Mittal as a steel trader. It was via this job that she first traveled the world and witnessed first hand the inequality that people face, and the sheer luck one has in regards to being born into a wealthy country or not, developing a passion for helping people.
Fast forward several years. She now found herself a mother of three, and recently divorced. She decided this was her moment: She applied for every NGO she could think of – and she got her lucky break. She was offered a position at the Foreign Service Ministry. The Thailand Tsunami in 2004 had just happened and Luxembourg was committed to contributing huge funds for the relief effort. They needed someone who could deal with huge budgets, and Marianne was the right person for the job!
This episode is a fascinating story of a personal pivot, and working towards finding a greater meaning in life. We also talk about migrants in general given the current political climate, and how you can help if you feel compelled to get involved.
Please give it a listen and let me know what you think. As always, I'd love to hear from you. If you have a comment or are interested in being on the show, please email me at momlife@rtltoday.lu. Or you can reach me via Facebook, or Instagram.
