Community interpreting
Interpreters for advice sessions, support groups, home visits and community events.
Sector: Charities and NGOs
Language support for charities, NGOs and community organisations
SILA Linguists provides vetted, trained and qualified interpreters and translators for charities and NGOs, from refugee advice sessions to international programme reports, in the languages the people they serve speak.
Many charities work with people who are least able to communicate in English: refugees and asylum seekers, survivors of trafficking and domestic abuse, migrant workers and isolated older people. Organisations supporting people forced from their homes, in the UK, North America, Australia, New Zealand and beyond, need professional interpreters to give advice that people can understand and act on.
At the same time, charities answer to funders and trustees. Grant applications, impact reports and donor communications may need translating for international partners, and multilingual campaigns need to sound natural to each community rather than translated word for word.
We help you choose the right type of support for each task: telephone interpreting for a short advice call, face-to-face interpreting for a counselling session, or translation of a leaflet that will be used for years.
What this sector needs
Language challenges in charities and ngos
Advice and casework
Housing, benefits, immigration and debt advice needs accurate interpreting so that people understand their options and deadlines.
Trauma-informed interpreting
Survivors of violence, trafficking or persecution need calm, neutral interpreters, sometimes of a specific gender, who will not judge or interrupt.
Helplines and drop-ins
Phone lines and drop-in services need interpreters on demand, often in less common languages and dialects.
Community outreach
Leaflets, posters and social media must read naturally to each community, with culturally appropriate images and examples.
Reporting to funders
International programmes generate reports, case studies and evaluations in other languages that must be translated for funders and trustees.
Choosing the right mode
Charities need practical advice on when telephone, video or face-to-face interpreting best fits a session, a helpline or an event.
How we help
Services for charities and ngos
Telephone interpreting
On-demand interpreting for helplines, drop-in services and short advice calls, 24/7.
Document translation
Leaflets, guides, consent forms, grant applications and impact reports translated by professional linguists.
Research translation
Translation of interview transcripts, surveys and evaluation findings from programmes and research projects.
Cultural advisory
Guidance on engaging particular communities, and mediation where cultural misunderstandings arise.
SILA Linguists®
SILA Linguists® services for charities, NGOs and community organisations
Charities and NGOs exist to reach people, and SILA Linguists® provides qualified interpreters and translators who work in the languages those people speak. Community interpreters support refugee and asylum advice sessions, domestic abuse services, counselling and therapy, food banks and welfare advice, and community workshops. Telephone interpreting is available to helplines and drop-in centres 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and video remote interpreting makes it possible to support people in remote areas or across borders. For survivors of violence, you can request a female or male interpreter, and our linguists are briefed on trauma-informed practice.
We translate leaflets, posters, consent forms, websites and helpline information, and certified translation of identity papers, certificates and records for beneficiaries who need them for housing, benefits, education or immigration applications. For programme teams, our research translation covers evaluations, surveys and impact reports, and transcription with translation for interviews and focus groups. Fundraising websites and campaigns can be adapted through website localisation, and Deaf service users are supported by BSL interpreters. Volunteer and beneficiary surveys can be translated, collected and analysed in the original languages.
Many charities work alongside immigration, healthcare and public sector services, and asylum-focused organisations can draw on our language analysis and cultural advisory expertise. SILA Linguists® covers more than 350 languages and dialects, including Arabic, Farsi, Tigrinya, Somali, Ukrainian and Pashto, for charities and NGOs in the UK, North America, Australia, New Zealand and beyond. Every linguist works under NDA and UK GDPR, so beneficiaries can speak freely and safely. One project team handles every booking and file, so busy caseworkers have a single contact.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Can our helpline reach an interpreter out of hours?
Yes. Telephone interpreting runs 24/7, 365 days a year, so helplines, refuges and out-of-hours services can bring in an interpreter as soon as a call comes in.
Can we request a female interpreter?
Yes. For domestic abuse, sexual violence and some health settings, clients often prefer an interpreter of a particular gender. Tell us when booking and we will assign an interpreter of the requested gender.
Can volunteers or bilingual staff interpret instead?
For informal conversation they may help, but for advice, safeguarding or anything with legal or health consequences, a professional interpreter protects both the person and your organisation.
Can you translate our campaign so it sounds natural, not translated?
Yes. For campaign and outreach material we adapt wording, examples and tone for each community rather than translating literally, and can advise on cultural sensitivities.
Get in touch
Tell us the language, the format and the date
Our bookings team will confirm the details with you and arrange the right linguist. Have the language (and dialect, if you know it), the type of assignment and the date ready.