EQHO Communications has pledged its continued support for Translators Without Borders. The company has renewed its bronze sponsorship and continues to volunteer its services as a South East Asian language translator.
People in some of the world’s poorest countries do not have access to life saving health information in their native language. There are around 7000 different world languages, 2200 of which can be found in Asia. In Thailand, for example, there are approximately 70 minority languages; Papua New Guinea has a record 830.
According to UNICEF, more people die from lack of knowledge than disease. A study conducted in Africa by Common Sense Advisory. found that 63 per cent of people believe that greater access to translated information could have saved the life of a friend or family member.
Humanitarian translations
Translators Without Borders (TWB) was formed on the premise that knowledge saves lives. The US-based non-profit connects volunteer translators with aid organizations in need of translation services. Work centers on increasing access to reliable health care information worldwide.
An initiative in India involved subtitling health-related videos into key Indian languages. Information about malnutrition and new-born care was translated into 12 dialects, broadening the reach of the message significantly. Wikiproject Medicine translated 80 of the highest ranking online medical articles (with an average of 1 million views per month) from English into around 80 developing world languages.
The sharing of knowledge and information can solve many of the world’s problems: disease, hunger, malnutrition, infant mortality and relief after natural disasters. The financial backing provided by the sponsors of TWB is crucial to fund these life-saving projects.
Asian language service provider EQHO Communications has pledged its continued support by renewing its bronze sponsorship. The Bangkok based localization company works in over 50 languages and has volunteered its services as a specialist translator of South East Asian dialects. The company is also involved with many community based development initiatives that facilitate communications in Thailand and developing the Lao PDR.
10 million word milestone
TWB are changing the world one word at a time. Last year, 5 million words were translated, in May 2013, they reached 10 million. To celebrate, sponsors have participated in a short video production as part of a montage to be aired at Localization World in London.
Supporters were asked to record an mp3 message saying why they back the organization. EQHO’s answer gets to the heart of the matter: ‘We support TWB because we care and we want to share.’ That is to share information. Projects which fund medical treatment in developing countries help to alleviate the pain and discomfort of many. Education can prevent this suffering in the first place.
