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TWB’s work in the Democratic Republic of Congo

TWB has been supporting humanitarian partners in eastern DRC since early 2019. This began with assessments of language in the Ebola response in North Kivu.

Effective engagement with communities is vital to communicate about health risks and ensure that people know how to keep themselves and their families safe. A lack of clear two-way communication in languages and formats that people can understand makes people affected by crisis more vulnerable. This applies especially to women, older people, and speakers of marginalized languages, often disadvantaged by limited access to education. TWB works with responders to develop tools and language capacity to provide communities with better access to information and services that meet their needs.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world, with over 200 languages spoken. We believe that everyone should have access to information, rights and services free from language barriers.

The DRC continues to face serious health challenges. The first case of COVID-19 was detected in March 2020 and the 11th Ebola outbreak announced in Equateur in June 2020. The TWB team will continue to investigate language barriers in affected areas and support responders to engage more effectively with people at risk. We will work with partners on health programs and across the wider humanitarian response, to ensure that language issues are better understood and addressed.

To learn more about TWB’s work in DRC, contact [email protected].

CALL FOR VOLUNTEER TRANSLATORS

We are looking for translators from French and English into the following languages:

Lingala (Makanja and Simple)
Congolese Swahili
Nande
Mongo
Ngombe

We are also interested in building capacity in other DRC languages including Hema, Lendu, Shi and other DRC languages. Apply here

"In medicine they have very many terms... If you have never been to school, you won’t understand a thing and you get confused. It’s a reason why people no longer go for treatment.”

-Female resident, Mandrandele, Beni

Program updates and resources


TWB Glossary for the Democratic Republic of Congo

View and use the glossary here.

TWB Language Services in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Learn more about the language services we offer: English, French

women learning to write community recruitment intern

TWB Translation and Editing Services in the DRC

Learn more in English or French. 

Brief: Chatbots against COVID-19

Uji is a multilingual chatbot that answers people’s questions about COVID-19 by engaging them in real conversations in their own language. It's a key part of making sure everyone has COVID-19 information, in their own language.
Read more in English and French. 

Language guidance for communicating about COVID-19

In crises like the COVID-19 pandemic it is essential to communicate in language that is clear, accurate, and accessible. The following guides help responders communicate effectively about COVID-19.

Read the guidance in English and French.

Field guide to humanitarian interpreting and cultural mediation (French)

A guide to support humanitarian field managers, interpreters and cultural mediators.

Read the guidance in Congolese Swahili, French, Lingala, and Nande.

TWB's training of public health intervention teams in DRC

Our workshops encourage managers to incorporate a language sensitive approach into all programs.

Learn more in English or French. 

Terminology in Health Interventions

The choice of terminology can create confusion, mistrust and fear. A guide to choosing the right words to talk about complex and sensitive concepts in health.

Learn more in English or French. 

Brief: Information gaps on COVID-19 in eastern DRC

Staff and communities in eastern DRC need information on COVID-19 in plain language and in pictorial and audio formats to fill information gaps and to prevent confusion.

Read the guidance in English and French.

Brief: The Language of Grief

Information and communication around death and bereavement needs to be sensitive, appropriate and in a language that people understand.

Read the guidance in English and French.

Brief: The Language Factor

Lessons learned on adapting to the language needs of communities in the 10th Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Read the guidance in English and French.

The challenges of translation into Congolese Swahili

An exploration of the importance of a localized Swahili in Congo and the importance of machine translation.

Read the guidance in English and French.

language map DRC

Language data for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Interactive and static maps for the DRC and its provinces.

How to talk about health and Ebola

The following guides can help health responders communicate more effectively about health and Ebola in the DRC.
 
Read the "How to talk about health" guide in English, French, Ngombe, Swahili, Nande, Mongo, and Lingala.
Read the "How to talk about Ebola" guide in English and French. 

Why we need to collect data on the languages of crisis-affected people (PDF)

This infographic highlights the challenges we face when we fail to incorporate language data into humanitarian decision making. In order to address those challenges, we propose four key questions to include in all humanitarian data collection efforts.
 
View the infographic in English, Congolese Swahili, French, Lingala (Facile), Lingala (Makanja), Mongo, Ngombe, and Nande. 

We need to talk. Effective Ebola risk communication requires respect and transparency and remains as vital as ever.

Building on our rapid language needs assessment conducted in February 2019 in Goma, TWB set out to understand the continuing communication challenges in the town of Beni.
Learn more.

Missing the mark? People in eastern DRC need information on Ebola in a language they understand

People at risk of contracting Ebola need information to keep themselves and their families safe. A 2019 TWB language needs assessment reveals what languages should be used to communicate about Ebola.
Learn more.

News

TWB and KoBo Inc develop speech recognition technology to capture voices of speakers of marginalized languages

September 1, 2020

TWB’s Access to Knowledge Awards celebrate people who share knowledge across languages

July 28, 2020

TWB partners with tech leaders to develop COVID-19 language technology for 37 languages

July 6, 2020

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