What have we achieved so far?
For such a small project we have achieved a lot since we started. Below are some of the highlights:
There's an equally long (possibly longer) list of frustrations, failures and painful learning. But it's through these that the successes are achieved.
- Three and a half years of funding two community interpreters to provide a service to the Deaf community.
- Provision of cameras and laptops to the team – to use for their professional development.
- Three weeks of Interpreter Development Training provided in The Gambia for the four interpreters, including the development of learning resources and recording of GSL.
- Recording naturalistic GSL for the interpreters to use in their development, and involvement of Deaf GSL users in training and role plays.
- Development of plain English resources about sign language, interpreting, CPD etc.
- An untrained person working as an ‘interpreter’ being assessed as dangerously incompetent, given the opportunity to improve, then removed from their post.
- Interpreters having PDPs and beginning to report on their progress, supported by 1:1 peer support from UK interpreters.
- The establishment of the Association of Sign language Interpreters – Gambia (ASLI-G), establishing their own professional body to recognise and promote the profession, ethics, and standards.
- Sending three of the interpreters to the AFSLI inaugural conference in Nigeria.
- Development in their strategic thinking and planning.
- 15% of the way to our fundraising goal to train 10 more interpreters
There's an equally long (possibly longer) list of frustrations, failures and painful learning. But it's through these that the successes are achieved.