A former educator finds new ways to serve her community

WNYC News

They may not be household names, but across the New York City area, countless individuals are contributing to their communities, in big and small ways. WNYC's Community Partnerships Desk is spotlighting some of them. We're calling them community champions.

This morning, we meet a former teacher who stepped up to help the Bay Ridge community. During the pandemic, Bibi Esahack's efforts helped to establish the Bay Ridge Community Development Center, of which she now serves as executive director.

The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

The story of how this came about, was really deeply rooted in COVID. We saw the crisis that the community was going through and how they were in great need and we stepped up to fill that gap and that need that our city couldn't. My history in this community is that I was an educator for over 25 years here in Bay Ridge and in Sunset Park and this was a natural progression, I feel, of, you know, going from serving students to now serving the whole community.

I am the daughter of immigrants in New York City. My ethnicity is Indian, but I serve a predominantly Arab community, which seems like an oxymoron, but I think it's a testament to the diversity of New York City and this community as well.

I think the thing that I've learned the most over the last few years is that community work is rooted in patience. Community work is something that you have to love. It is something you have to be dedicated to. It is not a 9 to 5 kind of job. I will get calls in the middle of the night where someone is in dire need of food, or they need shelter, or they need something and I have to figure out how I'm going to address that.

I see every single person that comes in as a champion. I see those people waiting on the line for two or three hours to get groceries. Those are the champions because they are trying to feed their families, and it's difficult in this economy, in this age that we're living in. It's hard for them in this post COVID period.

So, they're the real champions. I'm just a facilitator.