An Interview with a TWB Translator: Prison Yoga and Moving Smiles

TWB News Featured Translators
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Every translator has their own story to tell, and today, the spotlight falls on @patriciacassoni , one of Translators without Borders’ (TWB’s) most active Kató Translator who describes herself as “humbly seeking freedom, truth and justice through yoga”, volunteering out of a desire to give something back to people in need.

:pen: The facts:

  • Volunteering with TWB since 2012
  • Language pairs: Portuguese and English to Spanish
  • Total tasks completed: 297
  • Word count to date: 360,000

Patricia-Cassoni-1

Patricia has worked on various projects, from translating a yoga book for the Prison Yoga Project, to a letter from MPs following the murder of Jo Cox, work on the subject of refugees and migrants, Operation Smile, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders), and the International Organization for Migration. Read more about these projects in our blog post.

Within TWB’s community of Kató translators, Patricia is both mentor and student, sharing her knowledge and skills with colleagues, and also benefiting from their experiences too.

Belonging to TWB’s community of Kató translators is very interesting. Once, a judicial translator from California contacted me and asked my opinion about her work. It was funny because I had been a judicial translator for fifteen years and this girl did not know it.

Patricia is an excellent example of how participating in the TWB’s community can not only benefit volunteer translators, but how it can also make the world feel like a smaller, less divided place. :world_map:

Respond to Patricia’s interview below, and let us know what are the most interesting projects you have taken part in as a Kató Translator?

Patricia leaves us with some words of advice:

keep on working with a smile, without expecting anything, and pursue quality in all projects.

What would be your advice to other aspiring volunteers? To get in touch about any of the topics mentioned in this post, and to leave feedback please join the discussion here, or send an email to translators@translatorswithoutborders.org.

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This looks fab! Thank you for your contribution to our community, @patriciacassoni. Volunteer work requires you keep the end result in mind, and the projects Patricia has worked for clearly make a difference – you can read the blog for more about the Prison Yoga Project and Operation Smile.

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Nice job, Patricia. Hard work always show commitment and enthusiasm to complete a task.
Really interesting your experience and joy for the work done.
CONGRATS!

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Congratulations @patriciacassoni !

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I never got around to reading this! Congrats @patriciacassoni! It is a pleasure working with you :slight_smile:

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Another interesting TWB story, @ambra … Congratulation @patriciacassoni !

Yes, it’s very intereresting and very useful to help, too.

Experience on field is very important. I’ve also been a sworn interpreter and translator for German courts and notaries for a decade, before moving to Austria.

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Thank you so much for your comments, Cristina! Hope I won’t intrude: you can’t work in Austria courts and notaries? I’m just curious about how that works, do you have to be a sworn interpreter in that country? I thought it depended on the language.

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@ambra No more interested in Court Certification … Similar language, but different law system and terminology. Admission is expensive: application fee, literature, examination and association. No assignment can be refused in both languages - not even if handwritten docs, or in a field which I don’t know. Or if, now living in the countryside, they require only “one hour” court interpreting, but “very far away”.

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Sounds like a lot of troubles indeed :smiley: thanks for explaining!

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