Thursday, January 27, 2011

Translators without Borders Is Growing ...and can use your help and donations!

In Port au Prince last month, a 2-year old girl was given up for dead. Her mother had dressed her in her best clothes, expecting to lay her to rest. But today the little girl is one of the 84,500 people in Haiti successfully treated for cholera by Doctors Without Borders.


What does this have to do with translation?


Saving the life of this one child was the result of the concerted efforts of many people. The doctors and nurses on the ground who rehydrated and treated her. The logisticians who made sure they had the right medical supplies. The fundraisers who helped raise the money to get the supplies and medical staff to Haiti. And Translators without Borders volunteers.


Since 1993, Translators without Borders has donated the equivalent of $2 million dollars through volunteer translation efforts to Non Governmental Organizations.  They need our help and donations to expand.
  • For Handicap International, $2 million dollars could clear 83,333 land mines
  • For Doctors without Borders, this would provide 285,714 vaccines
  • $2 million dollars in the hands of Action against Hunger would be enough for 47,617 malnutrition kits
Translators without Borders’ translations helped Doctors Without Borders/Medecins sans frontières raise money from international donors and train international medical staff. In the first days of the earthquake in Haiti, they told the world where help was needed, and have continued to inform the world on the ongoing situation.


Haiti is just one of the regions where Translators without Borders helps NGOs communicate.  Since 1993, Translators without Borders has donated more than 2 million U.S. dollars worth of translations for humanitarian needs in countries such as Somalia, Chad, Angola, Afghanistan, and many more.


Translators without Borders’ goal is to increase the amount of humanitarian translations every year. For all the good work done, there is much more content and many words that need to be translated into local languages.


The organization is now putting the infrastructure in place to serve that unmet need. Just this year, Translators without Borders formalized its volunteer board and developed a platform to make it very easy for volunteers to translate as much or as little content as they have time to contribute. Now the organization is working with African grassroots NGOs to translate critical health information into local languages.


But Translators without Borders cannot succeed solely with volunteers. Structurally, the organization must hire a manager to match the huge and growing need of translations with the many eager translators who want to help. With a direct need of $150,000, every donation will help!


There is much more to be done.

This is simply a request to consider helping. Rather, it is one of the few moments when those of us involved in the Translation Industry can "make a difference". Please consider a donation of any amount to Translators without Borders.  Make a difference — be a part of the translation industry’s effort to serve humanity. You can donate through this link.


Thank you for your consideration,


Renato

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