Just a few words about an organisation that we at QuickSilver are big fans of: Translators Without Borders.
In crisis situations such as the earthquakes in Japan or Haiti, the language barrier that can exist between aid workers and the local population can cause potentially very serious problems.
Translators Without Borders (TWB) was founded in 1993 by Lori Thicke to try and help address this problem, as well as to disseminate information in crisis-hit areas and provide free translations for NGOs. Translators Without Borders/Traducteurs sans Frontières has worked with NGOs and non-profit organisations like Médecins sans frontières (Doctors without Borders), Médecins du Monde, Action Against Hunger and Handicap International, and it translates about one million words a year. TWB needs volunteer professional translators of all language combinations in order to meet the growing translation needs of NGOs. In particular, they need people to work with these combinations:
• English > French, Spanish, Portuguese
• French > English, Spanish, Portuguese
• Spanish > French, English, Portuguese
• Portuguese > French, English, Spanish
And are looking for translators specialised in the following areas:
• Medical
• Legal
• Logistical
Lori Thicke recently spoke to the Common Sense Advisory about TWB’s aims for 2011. Amongst other goals, they aim to increase support of NGOs to at least (the equivalent of ) one million dollars per year and start providing African and Southeast Asian languages to support grassroots actions in the developing world.
Do visit their website for more information about how you can contribute (time or donations) and help support this outstanding organisation.
