Brigette Eschenauer at World Refugee Day!
For International Institute of Akron volunteer Brigitte Eschenauer, there is no such thing as a language barrier. She built her career working as a French and English interpreter and translator. She then spent 18 years teaching French to high school students at Laurel School in Shaker Heights and Western Reserve Academy in Hudson. After retiring from teaching, she began volunteering with Catholic Charities in Cleveland as an interpreter for Congolese immigrants. Brigitte immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1972, so she can relate to the challenges that immigrants and refugees face.
“I remember that it was not easy, even though I had all the advantages of having an American husband and not having to find a job right away,” she said. “Still, it was a little bit of a shock. I could just imagine how hard it must be for those people who come here.”
This feeling of empathy toward immigrants and refugees grew over the years, and Brigitte longed to become more involved with the refugee community. In 2016, she read an article in The Plain Dealer about the International Institute of Akron’s work with refugees. She decided to call the front desk and ask for more information about volunteering. Her first gig as a volunteer was as a receptionist at the old IIA location on Tallmadge Avenue.
“One day a week, I would be at the reception for the refugees helping them figure out who they needed to talk to. It was a very small space, but it was nice because we just talked a lot while we were waiting,” Brigitte said. “It was a very congenial atmosphere.”
Brigitte has been an asset to the International Institute of Akron since her first day at the reception desk in 2016. She now works in the donation room, where she collects and sorts the household items that families need when they arrive in America.
“The caseworkers tell us ‘OK, there is a family of eight coming next week,’ so we prepare everything for that family,” Brigitte said, “you know, sheets and comforters and pillows and kitchen utensils. When they get into their house, they have pretty much what they need right away.”
Brigitte said that the most challenging aspect about volunteering in the donation room is the planning. Sometimes refugees’ planes don’t land on time, and sometimes multiple families arrive at once.
“I like to plan, but this is not a job where you can plan. You hope that you don’t offer too much but enough in case you have two families of ten who come in the same week. You don’t want to run out of pillows and toilet paper.”
Despite the occasional inventory challenge, Brigitte says that she wouldn’t change anything about her volunteer position. She finds purpose in her work, and she also enjoys speaking French with some of the other volunteers in the donation room.
By donating her time for the International Institute of Akron, she hopes that she can inspire other people to support refugees.
“It’s getting harder and harder for people to understand what it means to be a refugee and come to a totally new country,” Brigitte said. “It has to be so hard, and I don’t think that many people realize how difficult it is.”
The International Institute of Akron’s goal is to guide refugees through the immigration process, so that they can feel safe and welcomed in this new chapter of their lives.