Photograph by Robert Scheer
Volunteer Hsi Huang (left) explains the contents of an imigration form to Leung Sui Ling Fung, who wants to bring two daughters to the United States from China.
By DANTHANH HUYNH
Abby Pacoma-Alaimo, a volunteer at the Sunnyvale Language Bank, recognizes that she needs to pat herself on the back more often.
For more than year, she has committed her time to translating brochures and flyers from English to Tagalog for the American Cancer Society and Second Harvest Food Bank.
"I was given this talent [of bilingualism], so I want to help others," Pacoma-Alaimo says. "It's a warm feeling to know your services are important."
Mai Le, a volunteer from Sunnyvale, helps with oral translations at the Sunnyvale Library. Like Alaimo, she has found the experience rewarding. As an oral translator, she helps Vietnamese immigrants understand how the library system works and how to fill out applications for library cards.
"It feels good to do something for the community, to be able to introduce people to a new system," Le says. "People are open and welcoming of your help."
For many human-service agencies, bilingual volunteers like Alaimo and Le are valuable resources for clients who speak limited English. These clients an also find a wealth of assistance at the Sunnyvale Volunteer Language Bank.
Through written translations and verbal interpretations, bilingual volunteers help them understand technical, medical and legal documents from schools, the Sunnyvale Public Safety Department, El Camino Hospital and Sunnyvale Community Services.
Community Services opened the language bank in January 1995 in partnership with Camino Healthcare, the public safety department, the Sunnyvale Elementary School District, and Homestead and Fremont high schools.
Executive Director Nancy Tivol says Community Services formed the language bank in response to calls from service organizations requesting translations from her staff. When bilingual staff members left Community Services, Tivol decided to recruit volunteers from the community to help the organizations.
Tivol says community response was sometimes not what she hoped it would be.
"People asked, 'Why don't these people learn how to speak English?' " she recalls. "Many people know English well enough to get along, but they don't know the technical, legal and medical terms."
The language bank works closely with service organizations such as the American Cancer Society, the Centre for Living With Dying and support groups, primarily within the Sunnyvale area. Assistance is also provided in the Cupertino and Los Altos areas. The language bank does not provide services to private individuals unless they are clients of human service organizations.
Currently, there are 95 volunteers representing 35 languages in the program. Tivol says the volunteers range from college students to retired corporate employees and housewives.
In addition to an application and personal interview process, volunteers also go through two orientation and training sessions to learn policy, procedures and interpretation guidelines. Information about the volunteers' abilities and time availability is collected and entered into the language bank's data base, and clients call volunteers for specific assignments based on this information.
Chris Skok, program director for the language bank, says although all language assistance is welcomed, there is a high demand for volunteers who speak Spanish, Russian, Farsi, Vietnamese, Tagalog and Korean. The language bank is working on developing Eastern European language assistance and recruiting daytime Spanish-speaking volunteers. Volunteers need to be bilingual in English and another language, have cultural understanding and sensitivity, relate to professional staff and clients and have their own transportation for assignments.
For more information about volunteering, contact Skok at 738-4298.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, August 14, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.