Working on multilingual community health projects is often described in terms of coordination, timelines, and deliverables. But the reality of this work is also emotional, relational, and deeply human.

For the recent Community Health Assessment project with Contra Costa County Public Health, my role was to support …

Respond Crisis Translation has been on the frontlines of political, environmental, and economic disasters across the world.

RCT stepped in to assist the 2026 Global Sumud Flotilla by providing interpreting services at vital training sessions and translating resources for the thousands of activists involved in the movement.

Looking at the state of the language industry right now so often can make us, as language activists, feel defeated, hopeless, even horrified. LinkedIn is full of stories about how AI is going to take our jobs, screenshots of exploitative agencies offering fake translation jobs or, when they’re real, rates that are completely inhumane. Governments and institutions across the globe …

In my work as an Arabic–English interpreter with Respond Crisis Translation, I have had the privilege—and the responsibility—of giving voice to individuals whose stories might otherwise go unheard. One case that has stayed with me deeply is that of Khaled (pseudonym).

One of the most powerful moments of my year with RCT was interpreting for Marwa (pseudonym), a transgender woman who had been detained by ICE since 2024 and was ultimately granted release. This experience reaffirmed why language access …

Last Thursday, Oct. 30, RCT held a panel at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts in San Francisco to talk about language depravation and it was covered by the SFGATE media.

During the July 4 “holiday” of this year of 2025, a cherished member of the RCT community, someone for whom I have interpreted for a long time, was abducted in front of my eyes …

Every translation has a real, tangible impact on someone's story. The work of the Spanish Team.

Working at Respond and being part of the community has shown me that what we are doing really does make a difference. Every case we translate or interpret has a real, tangible impact on someone's story. Getting the chance to work with people who are aligned on the same causes …

Inside our work with Machaela Parkin.
In just two days, our team received multiple different requests for interpreters (both remote and in person) for several Central Asian languages!

Did you know that in Brazil we consider that the year is only starting after carnival? So Happy New Year!
WE ARE PROUD! Since July 2024 we’ve helped 2593 asylum cases, serving 4668 asylum seekers and more than …

By Machaela Parkin and Mohamed Fenzar
Over the last two months, the Russian and Arabic teams have coordinated to provide translation support to several students from Gaza, translating documents from Arabic to …

I hope your New Year is off to a fantastic start! As we step into 2025, it’s a great opportunity to reflect on our achievements, growth and challenges as a team. Here’s a summary of what we accomplished together in 2024 …

– How a Twi interpreter saves lives with her skills
By Portia Oware Twerefoo
After almost six months of providing emotional interpretation for Fii (name changed for privacy), I was overjoyed to hear about his release from the ICE detention center…

by Dafnes Aly
Before becoming Project Manager of Respond's Portuguese Team, I worked as an interpreter with a Brazilian client and two pro bono lawyers from the USA. They didn't speak each other's language and …

Respond Crisis Translation’s client, Mr. B, was recently featured in an article in The Advocate after he was granted asylum in the United States following a traumatizing experience that forced him to leave his home country.

Earlier this month, on March 21, Representatives U.S. Representatives Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.), and Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), and 27 other House representatives called on the Department of Homeland Security to address serious concerns …

Respond Crisis Translation’s Arabic Team worked tirelessly in 2023, supporting hundreds of individuals seeking asylum and refuge, partnering with organizations on dozens of projects, as well as raising awareness around key language justice issues, throughout 2023 …

In 2023, Respond Crisis Translation’s Portuguese Team worked on 62 cases, translated over 56,000 words, and interpreted for 61 hours. This work mostly concerned the translation of legal immigration documents.

The team also participated in a fascinating project with our partner Ashoka!

Respond Crisis Translation’s Haitian Creole (Krèyol) Team completed hundreds of projects in 2023 – of these, 60 were asylum and/or immigration cases. We also helped mental health professionals provide psychosocial support, worked on several projects related to …

2023 has been a particularly difficult year, witnessing many upheavals and crises around the world, and the French Team, as always, has contributed to making the world a better place.

It was also a year of growth for the French Team, ending with a total of 106 linguists based in 30 countries around the world ..