As a CorpsAfrica Volunteer, having to live far away from home with communities that don’t speak a similar language as you can be quite terrifying. Being a volunteer and having this huge passion for helping people, my first thought is not running or locking myself in the room, nor is there room for escaping, hence being left with only one option, and that is dealing with the problem at hand. An elderly woman talking to me for several minutes in her native language and not being able to understand anything but having to smile all through was a bit embarrassing for me, hence the need to deal with this problem became one of my main priorities. To deal with this, I considered these three aspects;
Getting myself a translator. This is one of the most popular methods used in language barrier solving. However, it only works when I am with a counterpart who volunteered to show me around the place and also in a group setting where one of the members can speak Swahili, and then the member can offer to translate for others. Having a translator, I faced several challenges since I was forced to rely heavily on them; hence, when they were unavailable, I would be left stranded, and there is the big issue of message distortion, which occurs so often.
Secondly, the use of signs and symbols. This comes in handy sometimes but can be quite challenging since there are only a few signs one can use. For example, one can use signs to demonstrate; come glass of water, happiness, sadness, running, etc. This method can be quite frustrating since it can lead to misinterpretation of the message, and some people may not understand it at all.
Lastly, learn the language. As an adult, one of the hardest things to do is learn a new language. As for me, the best teachers I come across are the children. My host sister was a great help; she would make me repeat the word until she felt it was good enough. She did this patiently and even demonstrated how to pronounce these words. Having been taught this with such great patience, no mocking was a great help, and this created a safe space for both of us to foster a great friendship.
Having stayed in the community for three months, I have not yet mastered the language but can confidently say I know the basic words thanks to my great teacher. By using these three methods, I can slowly overcome this big challenge. I have discovered that language is never a barrier when you have kindness in your heart.
