UNC-CH | Ahna Hendrix

What is La Voz Translation Services?

I realized two days ago I haven’t been keeping my blog up to date on the program I have been working on.

Truthfully, I’ve been too busy to be as diligent with my blog writing as I need or want to be, but I thought I had dedicated one blog to talking about the program and everything it has to offer.

The process of getting La Voz together has been, well, quite the process. I have wanted to write about the frustrations and issues all along, but a large part of me doesn’t like putting negative energy into the “blog-sphere.” (Yes, that’s one of my words…I think) 🙂 But now the rough waters are beginning to calm, and I can see where I could have shared.

La Voz was a project I came up with over the summer while working with the Carrboro Police Department. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the meanderings I was doing mentally would turn into a solid idea. I worked there as an office girl, and part-time interpretor. I was able to assist the police officers and detectives when someone came in who could only speak Spanish – if they needed my help.

The police department does not have anyone on their staff who is fluent in Spanish, and with Carrboro’s Latino population resting at 9.1%, that’s a significant chunk of the community who is unable to communicate. To be fair, the CPD is actively looking for officers who are fluent, and would like to incorporate more Spanish speakers to the team.

But, this lack resulted in arrests for small tickets, or other time and money consuming activities which were often the consequence of simply not being understood. It is not natural for Latinos to appear in court for every ticket they are given.

I saw pain and frustration among the non-English speakers (some whom were not Spanish speakers), and the police department on money and time wasted in the court systems. I asked myself repeatedly how this could be solved. I knew there had to be a solution.

The solution came to me as most ideas or “solutions” (I call them Ahna solutions) do – at 3 a.m. when I am being an insomniac and can’t seem to turn my brain off. But, like all great ideas it was thought over, and then pushed aside because I didn’t have the time or the resources to begin such an endeavor.

The time came through a project in my Latina/o Media Studies class at UNC-Chapel Hill. We weren’t supposed to create a solution to the communities need, we were just supposed to create media products that would help Latinos. Of course, I took it to the extreme.

La Voz Translation Services is a volunteer-based program that will assist the Chapel Hill and Carrboro Police Departments in their communication with non-English speaking residents. It will also assist non-English speaking residents communicate with the police department. The program is to remain neutral in all its interactions, and remain “The Voice” between two languages.

La Voz Translation Services

The program has incredible potential to truly meet the needs of the community on several levels, and although we are initially going to begin working with the police departments, the goal is to reach out to other government and local organizations in the future. And I plan to extend the languages offered through the program.

La Voz has been featured in several publications, and was just asked to be interviewed by La Voz Presenta which is a television program in Kinston, North Carolina. The weekly show is shown across 26 counties, and seen by over three million viewers.

La Voz is currently in talks with two organizations heavily rooted in the Triangle, one with UNC-CH, and the other within the community. Both of these partnerships would enable La Voz the support and resources to elevate to a level where it could make an enormous impact. Exciting news will be coming….

I am including links to the articles published on La Voz, as well as our Facebook and Twitter accounts. I plan to create the website over my Christmas break, and will post that link as well when it is completed.

Please look into the program, follow us on Twitter, “like” our Facebook page (to stay up on news), and share your feedback and ideas. Programs such as these are conceived through one individual, but are given flight through the participation of many individuals. I welcome any ideas.

Latino Journalism and Media at Carolina (latijam)

Carrboro Commons

The Daily Tar Heel

La Voz Translation Services Facebook Page (please note, you will need to be signed into Facebook to access the page – if the link does not work you can search “La Voz Translation Services” and it will come right up)

@LaVozNC Twitter

Please feel free to contact us for volunteer opportunities at lavoztranslation@gmail.com

Equality Found in Orange County Law Enforcement

Orange County law enforcement says it is important that immigrants feel they are treated equally in the community.

Sheriff Lindy Pendergrass sat down with citations in hand. All six were cited for driving without a license. As the pages turned he read the reason behind the citation and disclosed the race of the offender-three Hispanics, one African American and two Caucasians.

Pendergrass is running for reelection in part on a platform of tolerance.

“My policy is everyone should get the same courtesy regardless of race. We don’t have problems with Hispanics in Orange County. As law enforcement we must treat everybody like we want to be treated because we are not here in servitude, but we are the servants of the people,” said Pendergrass.

Pendergrass has been in law enforcement since 1957 and credits his open-mindedness to previous law enforcers he worked under before becoming the sheriff.

“I had a couple of the best mentors in the Chapel Hill police department. Chief W.D. Blake was one that came to us in the summer of ’62 and said that sit-ins were going to begin. We were to go and do our job, but we were to be compassionate and understandable because we had to live here,” said Pendergrass.

“I also credit it to the great University of North Carolina. Even if you don’t attend or graduate from UNC-CH, a lot of that good stuff rubs off on you,” said Pendergrass.

In the sheriff’s office Hispanics are only brought in if they have committed a crime. Then they are entered into the system through fingerprinting. This enables the SBI, FBI and immigration services to monitor for repeat offenders.

“Unless it is a serious crime, they are not going to come in and deport a Hispanic. Immigration calls us, we don’t call them. Sometimes they will simply call in and ask to speak with the Hispanic before being released,” said Pendergrass.

According to reports available through the sheriff’s office, in 2009 the Orange County ran 280 sets of fingerprints through the system, and only 12 of those Hispanics were turned over to immigration.

Hispanics and other immigrants are dealt with in the same manner across the county by other law enforcement departments and many credit the unique behavior to the diversity of the area.

“When you are in a university town and you deal with student populations, you deal with well-educated people. Your thinking tends to be a little different about other cultures in trying to understand them, and the compassion it takes to deal with people coming from different backgrounds,” said Captain Booker of the Carrboro Police Department.

Carrboro and Chapel Hill police departments work diligently to have patience with the communication gaps and use the resources that are provided to them to understand as best they can.

Corporal Frye of the Carrboro police department said that officers have many resources available, including a language line where they can call and have someone translate if necessary.

“Usually Hispanics find someone to help them translate before police arrive and if we cannot find someone to help, then we have a language line that will translate back and forth for us. We do everything we can to communicate, and I don’t think we have any problems, it just takes longer,” said Frye.

It is not difficult for police departments to earn reputations of being hard-nosed or difficult when it comes to dealing with minorities in any fashion, but that is not the case in Orange County.

“Generally speaking, I think the officers bring a non-biased approach in dealing with the Hispanic population, and I say that honestly. I think our guys have bought into the philosophy of doing the right thing and policing has changed. It is more about the root of the problem and trying to point them in the right direction with the resources available so that they can live a better life,” said Officer Pardo, of the Chapel Hill police department.

“This community has progressed because of the attitudes of the leaders in the communities, the mayors, the aldermen, and the commissioners. Sometimes we are criticized in Orange County for being too liberal, but I don’t think we are so liberal that we would want someone harmed. We try to get along with people,” said Pendergrass.

Farmers in Honduras to Receive Computers & Assistance

The UNC-CH students who purchase a four-dollar lunch at Nourish International’s Hunger Lunch hosted on Wednesdays are providing a way for volunteers to teach computer training and agricultural awareness in Honduras this summer.

“The project aims to engage the younger generation in Foundation for Participatory Research with Honduran Farmer’s agricultural and community development work, and to facilitate the sharing of the farmer’s research and access to information,” said Anna McCreight, a returning Nourish volunteer.

McCreight and newcomer Sarah Cox are leading a student group of 10 to Honduras this summer through the partnership of UNC-CH’s chapter of Nourish International and the Foundation for Participatory Research with Honduran Farmers (FIPAH).

“I have been looking forward to returning and working with FIPAH ever since I left last summer. The opportunity for a new group of students to come work with and learn from FIPAH is really exciting. This kind of investment in youth and exchange between youth is critical,” said McCreight.

McCreight and Sarah Cox were in charge of interviewing and deciding which students would make up the team to travel to Honduras. They looked for students who were open-minded, self-aware, and shared enthusiasm for the project and the goals of FIPAH.

“We also felt that the volunteers needed to be able to speak Spanish on a more advanced level so that they would be able to communicate with the farmers and workers at FIPAH. There are very few farmers that can speak English,” said Cox.

The trip focuses on farmer food sovereignty and youth engagement. Students will be in Yoro, Intibucá, Atlántida, and San Isidro leading youth workshops in computer and internet literacy, photography and journalism, said McCreight.

“Workshops facilitate the sharing of young farmers’ research and access to information. The intersection of technology and agronomy is important to the youth growing up in a world of hyper-connectivity,” said McCreight.

Food sovereignty is the farmer’s ability to be able to farm for their own family’s consumption. Seeds have become more generic and due to the climate in Honduras there are many crops that cannot be grown. The project aims to help farmers regain food supply and continue the farming tradition.

“Food sovereignty implies a level of autonomy not found in food security. For farmers, the key to that control lies in access to seeds. Possessing a variety of seeds enables farmers to decide for themselves and their communities when and what they grow,” said McCreight.

Another goal of the team is to motivate the younger generation into making agriculture and farming a part of their lives.

“Most of the farmers are much older, and the younger generation is not very interested in farming. We are going to help educate them and incorporate computer use into their training so agriculture isn’t lost in the future generation,” said Fox.

Santiago Beltran, a UNC-CH pre-business administration major , has served as a translator for several religious mission trips in the past, but felt that this opportunity to volunteer was different.

“I have come to realize that world issues such as poverty and hunger cannot be solved through traditional aid in the form of hand outs. The Nourish Honduras trip will work to empower Honduran farmers in collaboration with FIPAH. The program motivates and empowers individuals to reach their full potential,” said Beltran.

The computer workshops and the project initiatives will be funded by the UNC-CH chapter of Nourish International.

According to the Nourish International Web site, “We implement ventures, or small business plans, throughout the year to raise funds. This money is then invested into sustainable development projects in partnership with community based organizations around the world.”

Nourish was founded about seven years ago beginning with the Hunger Lunch on UNC-CH’s campus before expanding into Campus Y as a student organization. It began with the lunches and then spread out into other student-led sustainable development projects in communities abroad, said Katie Cox, a UNC-CH Nourish chapter co-chair.

“In the fall of 2007, Claire Kane-Boychuk proposed a partnership with FIPAH, which arose from her interest in food sovereignty and community-run agricultural initiatives,” said Cox.

Upcoming ventures for Nourish include the Global Music Jam, a world-music dance party to be held at the NightLight on March 19 and the Maple View Challenge, where contestants are told to run a mile, eat a pint of ice cream, and run back. All of the proceeds from these events will go to project costs for Nourish.

“One of the most critical aspects of the project is the training of FIPAH youth to continue leading these workshops after we leave. With this training, the project does not end when the Nourish team leaves,” said McCreight.

The Peace Corps want you!

“In many cases a Peace Corps volunteer is the only American the communities will ever see or have the experience to talk to,” said Aaron Williams, the director of Peace Corps during a reception Wednesday to celebrate UNC-CH’s involvement in the Peace Corps.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is ranked sixth in the top 25 of large schools that produce volunteers for the Peace Corps. Williams said, UNC-CH currently has 78 alumni volunteers and has placed 1, 092 volunteers in other countries for service.

The auditorium was packed at the FedEx Global Education Center with students and people of all ages waiting to hear Williams speak about the Peace Corps and what it has to offer possible volunteers.

“The Peace Corps is a life-defining experience and nothing compares to the experience you will gain during that time,” said Williams.

This is an exciting time for volunteering in other countries and participating in the Peace Corps due to President Barack Obama’s call to service. The program was given $400 million this year in allocation funds, the most it has ever been given. The Peace Corps is looking forward to using that money to put volunteers to work, said Williams.

Volunteers represent all 50 states and while most are college graduates, 14 percent are over the age of 30, 15 percent have a minority background and 6 percent are serving with their spouses. They serve in over 76 countries and speak over 250 languages.

The program is only growing in popularity with 15,000 applicants in 2009. More than 60 university campuses have adopted the Peace Corps Masters program which incorporates graduate study while students are volunteering.

“We are growing because the program is relevant right now. Volunteers are working at the grass roots level and are change makers addressing issues like fighting malaria, educating about AIDS and teaching English,” said Williams.

Williams’ also touched on his own personal story of volunteering for the Peace Corps from 1967-1970 in the Dominican Republic. At the age of 21 he took his first airplane ride into a country he had not even known existed and his life was forever changed.

The audience included more than students and interested candidates, a large number of past volunteers also attended.

“You saw that there were a lot of volunteers in the audience and we do sort of feel like we are family, if we meet somebody or go to a party and find out they served in the Peace Corps then it’s really great. We have a lot to talk about,” said Sam Brooks, a recent volunteer in the Philippines.

But as the speech came to an end and refreshments and finger foods were laid out for the attendees, possible candidates asked questions of those who had served

“I am really into it because I love to volunteer and it is top-notch volunteering. Plus, you get to travel and be immersed into another culture and do something new and impactful. I am really excited to get involved,” said Blair Budd, a sophomore at UNC-CH.

Jeff West, special assistant to Williams, said volunteers could look forward to a modest monthly stipend while serving, transportation to and from the country of service, and readjustment allowances to aid their getting back on their feet after they return.

Interested candidates are encouraged to attend monthly information sessions on campus as well as to begin the process online. The local Peace Corps recruiting officer, Chinyere Alu resides in Hanes Hall on main campus. She is available for questions and responsible for interviewing candidates as well as placing them in the countries they will serve. Alu can be reached by email at peacecorps@unc.edu.

The event was sponsored by UNC-CH’s University Career Service, Division of Student Affairs, Center for Global Initiates, Africa Studies Center, The North Carolina Peace Corps Association and the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers.