Ebenezer Arhinful takes care of people. He did it in Ghana, and he does it in Pittsfield. So when he was awarded BCArc’s 2020 Employee of the Year, chosen from 750 employees, he felt his life’s work had been validated.
“I have it in my heart to care for people,” Ebenezer told 80 coworkers on Zoom. “I am grateful for the help and companionship of all of the co-workers and colleagues that I have had the pleasure of working with over the years here at BCarc. I would like to seize this moment to thank every one of you as you have been instrumental in my development as a human services worker. Receiving this award means more to me than I could begin to explain. It is validation that I am doing the work that God has chosen for me. It is my way of giving back to those who need my help, and also receiving help from those around me when I need it.”
Ebenezer emigrated to the United States in 2012, joining his wife and 12-year-old son, who now attends Berkshire Community College.
“Whenever I am in the house, we are fine. They all want to be physically close to me. Verbal or non-verbal, they respond to me and we have good communication.”
“I’m doing what I do best at BCArc,” he said. “In my heart we do a great job for the individuals we serve.”
He called the residents of the house he works his “brothers. We are family. Whenever I am in the house, we are fine. They all want to be physically close to me. Verbal or non-verbal, they respond to me and we have good communication.”
Marc Bourassa, Ebenezer’s site manager, says that “the best way to understand how deeply caring and undoubtedly skilled Ebenezer is, one would have to watch him work a shift. He has an innate ability to make everyone around him more comfortable and confident. He sets the tone for every shift he works with positivity and an emphasis on team work. When others are down, Ebenezer is there to bring them back up. … He uses his approach to teamwork to motivate, and elevate the staff around him to levels they may not have reached without his positivity and confidence.”
Ebenezer has visited his family in Ghana twice during the past eight years, but not since the virus appeared nine months ago. He sees the Berkshires and BCArc his home now, and he and his family feel integrated with their new community through a local church — the Church of Pentecost in Pittsfield. “My son, my wife and myself are living happily together and we have made a nice life here in the United States.”
He added a comment about BCArc’s Residential Supervisor Erwin Figueroa: “When I was first hired at BCArc, Erwin encouraged me that with hard work, dedication, and determination one can attain great heights. Erwin is a caring and wonderful boss to all the individuals we serve and the staff he oversees.”
“BCArc employs a very large number of staff,” Ebenezer said, “so to be chosen as Employee of the Year for 2020 is an enormous honor, and proud moment in my professional career. I am grateful to my family for instilling in me the concept of hard work, dedication, and humanity.”
