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Language services help volunteers do their work

National Volunteer Week is a time to celebrate the contributions of volunteers around the world and to recognize the important role that language services play in supporting these efforts. Volunteers are critical to many organizations, from nonprofit groups and community associations to international aid organizations and disaster relief efforts. They provide essential services, from teaching literacy skills and providing healthcare to distributing food and supplies to those in need.
However, volunteering can be challenging, especially when language barriers exist. This is where language services come in. Interpreters and translators play a crucial role in helping volunteers communicate effectively with the communities they serve, and in ensuring that important messages are conveyed accurately and effectively.
There are countless examples of how language services have helped volunteers make a difference around the world.

📍For instance, during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, interpreters and translators played a critical role in helping international aid organizations communicate with local communities about the disease and how to prevent its spread. Without these language services, it would have been much more difficult for aid workers to deliver life-saving information and services to those in need.

📍Similarly, in refugee camps around the world, interpreters and translators help volunteers communicate with people from a variety of cultures and language backgrounds. They ensure that refugees receive the support and assistance they need, from medical care to legal aid to educational services.

📍In the United States, language services have helped volunteers in a variety of contexts, from working with immigrant communities to supporting disaster relief efforts. For example, after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, interpreters and translators helped volunteers communicate with residents who spoke a variety of languages, from Spanish to Vietnamese to Haitian Creole. These language services were essential in ensuring that volunteers could provide aid and support to those who needed it most.

📍During the Covid-19 pandemic, interpreters and translators have played a critical role in helping healthcare workers and volunteers communicate with patients and their families. For example, in the United States, language services have helped healthcare providers communicate with non-English speaking patients who can’t read or understand Covid-19 prevention and treatment information in English. In addition, interpreters have helped public health officials communicate with communities that may be hesitant to receive Covid-19 vaccines due to language or cultural barriers.

📍In the aftermath of the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine, interpreters and translators have been essential in helping international aid organizations communicate with local communities. For example, language services have helped volunteers communicate with Ukrainian refugees who have fled the conflict and are seeking shelter and assistance. Additionally, interpreters have helped volunteers navigate complex legal and bureaucratic processes to ensure that refugees receive the support and services they need.

In all of these contexts, language services have made a critical difference in the success of volunteering efforts. They have helped to break down language barriers, build trust between volunteers and the communities they serve, and ensure that important information is communicated effectively. As we celebrate National Volunteer Week, it’s important to remember the important role that language services play in supporting these efforts and to recognize the contributions of interpreters and translators around the world.

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Stories of volunteers in Homeland Language Services

Volunteers selflessly benefit the lives of others. The people, who volunteer, make the world a better place. Volunteer Recognition Day acknowledges the beauty of this phenomenon. Every day there is a place for help. You can help other people, animals, and nature. 

We are proud to share stories of Homeland Language Services’ employees who volunteer and try to make this world better. 

“From February 24th lots of people in my country, Ukraine, became volunteers. So did I. I helped our army and volunteering organizations with money from the start of the war, which was initiated by Russia. I don’t count how I helped my family in occupied Chernihiv, because it is my family. I had to help them with evacuation, electric generator, money, and medications. Moreover, in the city where I live, Dnipro, I help the shelter for refugees with clothes. During the war, I made lots of free translations of documents. Just because I can. 

Each Ukrainian person, who has enough power and mental strength to do something in such a situation, tries to help with useful information, money, clothes, food, and drugs. During the war, we see an unbelievable amount of volunteers and volunteering organizations. Lots of them are working under the fire, a lot of them were killed and injured… Nowadays, volunteers are the second heroes after militaries,” – Kseniya Tarasova, Homeland Language Services. 

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“I volunteered with Amnesty International in Bangkok. I set up a program for refugee children to get scholarships at international schools in Thailand. Children from Myanmar, Eritrea, Congo and other countries where they came from as refugees could study at schools completely free because of the project that we started,” – Kirill Konin, Homeland Language Services. 

“I am a volunteer translator for a Foundation in my home country Venezuela called Fundacion Madre Maria Luisa Casar. It is a school for 400 children located in a high-risk area of Caracas called Petare. They provide education, nutrition, and health services for the children and their families, as well as to the community where they are located. As a volunteer, I am in charge of translating their monthly newsletters for the Global Giving fundraising platform, as this is their main source of funding. This project is very dear to me and it is a blessing to be able to contribute,” – Gabriela Salas, Homeland Language Services. 

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“I had a kind of volunteering experience in Africa. I was there for around 10 days in 2020 (January). I saw how kids living in really poor areas are involved in education with unsuccessful methodologies, unfortunately, and the lack of organization, which is hugely afflicting locals. 

I was with my Kenyan friend, Betty, and on that particular occasion, she could explain to me a bit more about the habits of the community as well as the diseases that kids or adults are subjected to seasonally. We tried to run our own NGO that was aimed to build a school in the area of Kilifi, but then, the virus came and we had to stop running it. 

We are planning, however, to start it again soon! :)” – Sara Mazzuoli, Homeland Language Services. 

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“I’m so glad to hear there are so many of us (volunteers) and the number keeps on growing.  

I’ve been a volunteer for over a decade in a local NGO helping people after mental crises and those diagnosed with severe mental illnesses. It’s worth mentioning that the city I live in, Szczecin, is one of the biggest cities in Poland. Yet my organization is just a drop in the ocean of needs. However, thanks to volunteers and municipal support we celebrated the 17th anniversary this year and ain’t gonna stop.

I teach English in this NGO and give overall language support. Now and then I also act as a tour guide or a cleaning lady. My point is that there is always something to be done and everyone has skills to share, ever the slightest support matters. So it’s worth sharing your time, even an hour weekly to help. 

There is great power if people act together and every little help counts. Plus those who are being helped are mostly great teachers we learn from the big time,” – Małgorzata Gajda, Homeland Language Services.

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