Kibembe (Bembe) interpreting and translation

Kibembe interpreting for resettlement and protection

Tell us the client's home area and any camp they lived in, and we will match a Kibembe interpreter who knows that background. Most speakers also speak Congolese Swahili and many know French; some are happy to use Swahili for routine matters, but in asylum interviews, trauma assessments and court proceedings a first-language Kibembe interpreter allows fuller, more accurate accounts. We ask the client and record their choice.

Our interpreters work face to face for resettlement orientation, GP and hospital visits, mental health services, schools, housing and legal advice, by telephone 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, and by video, which suits follow-up appointments well. Clients describing violence may want an interpreter of a particular gender, and we arrange this on request.

Translation for Bembe families

Congolese civil records and court documents are in French, while refugee documents issued in Tanzania are often in English or Swahili. We identify the language of each page and provide certified translation into English with a signed statement of accuracy, accepted by UK authorities such as the Home Office, courts, schools and universities, and by employers. French or Swahili papers for authorities in the United States or Canada receive the certification they request.

Kibembe is written in the Latin alphabet, mainly in church and community material, and spelling is not fully standardised. At the start of a project we agree conventions for names and places, so a family's records stay consistent across every letter, form and report. Welcome packs, school letters and health information can be translated into Kibembe or Swahili, depending on what the family reads best, and short audio versions help parents who rarely read either.

Transcription and LADO

Recorded interviews and testimony in Kibembe are transcribed with time stamps and English translation, with Swahili and French passages labelled. Where origin in South Kivu needs to be established, language analysis for the determination of origin (LADO) is available.

Settings for our linguists in Kibembe

Our vetted, trained and qualified Kibembe linguists can support resettlement programmes, local authorities, the NHS and mental health services, immigration advisers, schools and refugee charities. SILA Linguists® coordinates everything through one project team, and every vetted linguist works under confidentiality agreements and UK GDPR. Bembe speakers resettled in the US or Canada can have an interpreter for refugee hearings, medical care and school meetings, by telephone or video.