The Shots Story- Language Barriers Make a Difference
When my father was 18 years he worked as a busboy, clearing dishes in upscale restaurants in downtown Long Beach, California.
It was his first year in the United States, and like many, many, immigrants chasing the American Dream, he went to community college for evening classes to learn English.
Multiple restaurant gigs eventually led to a full time job at a catering company that offered health insurance. Hooray! Medical care. The Dream was coming true.
During his first yearly check-up, the doctor asked him about his shots. Feeling weirded out that a doctor would assume he had been shot, he confidently responded that he had NEVER been shot in his life.
“Not even in Mexico?”
“No,” he responded.
The doctor almost fell over and then came back with an entire tray of needles to immunize my father.
The “Shots” Story still make me laugh to this day.
I know many immigrant families have their own version of the Shots story, where a language barrier caused a funny mix-up. But most of the time, language barriers simply shut out bilingual or monolingual speakers from organizations or systems that are not prepared to communicate with them.
That’s why Grassroots Unwired built our software with the ability to translate to up to 60 different languages on the fly. With two clicks of a button, the application is ready to continue in the language of your member, constituent or volunteer.
When you’re organizing, don’t let language barriers get in the way of communicating effectively. Be prepared any time, anywhere and in any language, with Grassroots Unwired for advocacy and campaigns.
– Written by Cynthia León, VP of Business Development