By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – It may not come as a surprise to hear that a young 21-year-old from Bolivia, barely able to speak English when she came to the United States, was very shy and struggled to make friends and get involved in American society.
But fast forward 46 years and Narda Inchausty is certainly not the shy one anymore.
Inchausty is in her eighth term as president of the Foreign Born Wives Club, an organization that was founded in 1976 to offer newcomers to this region an opportunity to meet others moving here from other countries. Since discovering the Foreign Born Wives Club in 1986, Inchausty says she has grown from a woman quite afraid of starting conversations with other women in the club to taking a leadership role which has seen the group transform in many ways, and quadruple the members from when she started.
“When I came to the first meeting, it was very difficult because I was very shy and could not walk up to others and begin talking,” she said. “When I went home from that meeting, I didn’t want to come again, but I had a friend I had met from Salvador who encouraged me to come to the first meeting, and insisted I return again.”
That started a slow climb up the ladder for Inchausty to become one of the leaders of the club today. Her interest to see the membership grow is because she remembers how important it was for her to acclimate herself in a foreign country, so the club hopes to help other women in the same situation.
On Friday, Aug. 23 at Pinewood Country Club, the Foreign Born Wives Clubs will host its biggest gathering of the year, the annual Luau that is open to the public. Inchausty will have one of the top Spanish musical groups in the region playing with Julio and Cesar performing for the 8 p.m. party. She is hoping other foreign born wives will attend with their guests.
“When I first came to the United States, I thought I knew English, but then I realized I had been taught it in a way that was not correct,” she said. “At first I thought the people in this country weren’t speaking it correctly. It took me quite a while to be able to communicate well, and I still don’t think my English is so good today.”
Inchausty grew up in La Paz, Bolivia with six children in a family that was led by her father, a local businessman who started at the bottom of an industrial company and eventually became a co-owner. But as hard as he worked, Inchausty said he always had time for his children, frequently taking them on business trips and to the movies.
“I always believed I was the favorite one for my father,” she said with a smile. “He would take me out of school for two or three days to go to Argentina or other countries.”
She began dating her high school sweetheart at the age of 16 and they were married when she was 21, immediately moving to the United States where Gonzalo Inchausty went to Texas A&M on a tennis scholarship. However, the scholarship only lasted a year and he had to work the rest of the way in college to obtain a degree as a petroleum engineer and geologist.
Meanwhile, Inchausty worked a few small jobs babysitting other children after she had the first of her three children at the age of 24. Her husband’s work eventually brought them to the New Orleans area and they quickly moved to the North Shore when they discovered the schools were excellent here.
“My husband helped me learn English because he would not allow me to speak Spanish anywhere I went,” she said. “He made me speak English in restaurants, the stores, or anywhere we met people. I am thankful to him for that.” The couple has now been married 46 years.
From the time she joined the Foreign Born Wives Club, Inchausty found the friendship to be helpful in settling in as an American, but eventually moved into a leadership position in 1992 as vice-president and began suggesting changes for the club, which had only 15 members when she joined.
“We met in parks and I wanted to start meeting in homes where it is a more relaxed situation to talk with others,” she said. “And now, that is usually where we meet.”
The organization is not just about helping foreign born women feel comfortable in this country, but they also raise money to support local charities, such as last year’s donation to St. Vincent de Paul, and previous donations to Mt. Olive Food Kitchen, Safe Harbor and many other non-profit groups.
Since becoming president for the first time in 2002, Inchausty has focused on growing membership with excellent results as the group now has 59 members, represented by 28 different countries.
The annual Luau is the major fundraiser for the group, but otherwise they meet once a month. For more information, call 985-502-5201.