Put your Spanish to good use; join RITA translators
By John White
In thinking of how to write this simple call for help I was struck by the prevalence of effective speech in day-to-day life.
When you order your coffee and you greet your friend, you probably do so with ease, even without much thought at all. Imagine living without that ease of communication.
Given our internationally-oriented campus and our required language classes, I presume that it is not too difficult to put yourself in the space of not knowing what the hell the waiter at the café just said, and why he is now vehemently pointing from you to the menu, repeating the same word over and over as if the words will mean something to you if he repeats them enough.
I assume that many of you have experienced something like the waiter’s exasperation when a grumpy and famished person who can’t seem to understand the simple fact that the kitchen is out of salmon.
Now back to the call for help, which, if you speak any Spanish at all, you should really pay attention to.
The Richmond Interpreter’s and Translator’s Association (RITA) is a group of students who volunteer their time and knowledge of Spanish to assist community members who do not speak English in various social service situations including tenant/landlord meetings, doctor’s appointments, meetings with lawyers and officials, and parent-teacher conferences, to name a few.
Currently, there is one person in Wayne County who is professionally trained to handle interpretations. There are indeed many community members who do not speak enough English to arrange for a doctor’s appointment for their earache.
The services RITA offers are very much so in demand. However, given the bizarre schedules that we as students keep, a number of volunteers are needed to make sure someone is consistently available to help.
So, RITA is looking for more volunteers to help maintain this student-run organization that allows us to put our classroom knowledge of Spanish to use in the form of locally oriented service to the community.
Does the prospect of going to someone else’s ultrasound appointment seem daunting to you? Think about the courage it takes to ask for an interpreter at your gynecologist’s appointment.
Do you feel like you don’t quite have that level of Spanish? In my mind, there is no better way to improve your knowledge of a language than to use it outside the classroom. RITA needs people with a basic level of Spanish, not only those who are fluent. Even a very rudimentary level of Spanish is better than not having an interpreter at all.
Do you feel like you need some extra help or some kind of orientation? We have helpful resources and we are also planning an interpreter training workshop in the near future.
Don’t have a car? Not willing to bike? We have transportation options. Don’t have time? Neither do I, but that hour nap seems pretty pointless when you’ve just helped a guy not get evicted because he can’t understand his bills.
Please take this opportunity to challenge yourself, to do something meaningful in the greater Richmond community, and, most importantly, to help someone.
If you have any Spanish language skills and are interested or would like more information, please e-mail me.
John White is a senior human development and social relations and Spanish and Hispanic studies major and can be reached at jawhite06@earlham.edu
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
