A grant of $3,500 towards an interpreters’ course will help the growing number of migrants living in Rotorua.
The funding will be used by the Rotorua Multicultural Council to facilitate the 12-week course run by Decypher, a Hamilton based interpreting service that will provide the training.
The course, which started on 23 April and runs to 9 July, accepted 26 people of the 36 that applied, says the Rotorua Multicultural Council’s President, Alexis LewGor. The Multicultural Council was overwhelmed with the response.
Those involved have to be fluent and conversant in their first language and English. In the past the council has been approached for assistance to send an interpreter to the courts, the hospital, police, Rotorua District Council, WINZ and Community Law services.”
Also, the services can be utilised by the Chamber of Commerce/Rotorua Multicultural Business Council for prospective migrant businesses who are looking to invest in Rotorua. “In my experience in working in the migrant communities, I’ve encouraged many to do the course. Over the years I’ve been approached or referred to for an interpreter but I am unaware of anyone in that specific ethnic community that I feel confident in sending out. These individuals need to be trained to be able to manage the situations they will be working in.”
The interpreters’ course will train individuals who are bilingualists. This will be a group of people who are confident about coming forward to help when needed and can manage the different situations they are placed in.
The main target for this course would be migrants who are already doing interpreting work for the people of their community, without having any training and without getting any financial compensation. When a trained interpreter is asked to provide interpreting services, they will be paid for the work, and Decypher will provide on-going support.
“Our Multicultural Council has over 60 different ethnic individuals and families we can utilise and to we can provide training, once we have concentrated on the main ethnic groups of bigger numbers.”
As well as being the president of the Rotorua Multicultural Council, Alexis is also the national secretary of the New Zealand Federation of Multicultural Councils and the cochair of the Rotorua Multicultural Business Council under the Chamber of Commerce.
“I’m very passionate about the work I do in migrant communities. My ethnic background being Fijian, Chinese, German, Samoan must help me with my intercultural and cross-cultural understanding of working in Rotorua’s ever-growing diverse community. ”
When Alexis first came to New Zealand in 1989 she lived in Murupara for nine years and felt she was the only Fijian in the Bay of Plenty; that is until she came to Rotorua and met other Fijians.
For more information, contact:
Alexis LewGor President Rotorua
Multicultural Council 027-449 4417
multiculturalrotorua@gmail.com