Annual Report 2022

Director’s Statement

In 2022, our fifth full year of existence, we knocked it out of the park. There are so many good works happening behind the scenes, and we aren’t always good at tooting our own horns. For those who understand how essential language access is and to those we have yet to convince, here are some of our 2022 highlights:

ALS provided phone/video interpreting for a Mayan language from Guatemala for a mother involved in the family court system.
59247 minutes of phone interpreting were used for the languages Dari and Pashto to support the great resettlement work our non-profit immigration partners do for the people of Afghanistan.

Through a grant from the Kentucky Bar Foundation, ALS provided language support for family court litigants and their court-appointed attorneys so that they would be prepared for their appearance before the judge. This program continues in 2023, and we now partner with the Administrative Office of the Courts to extend language justice even more.
ALS continues to offer exceptional language access solutions at a below-market price to our fellow non-profits. We put the time and resources into making sure even the smallest of organizations can meet the needs of all their clients regardless of language and culture.

We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without the support of our Board of Directors, the interpreter and translators we contract with, the customers who go the extra mile to serve their clients, and those who financially support ALS with your donations. The limited-English proficient population thanks you. The wider community thanks you for helping to make Lexington, KY, and beyond a more inclusive place to live. And ALS, thank you for helping us to fulfill our mission of bridging these so very crucial communication gaps.

Grant Recipient Becomes Qualified Interpreter

Fatuma Bahati is Access Language Solutions’ first person to receive interpreter training and certificate provided by the Cralle Foundation grant that ALS received last fall. She earned her certificate in 2022.

Ms. Bahati had been living in Lexington, KY for six years when she chose to receive this valuable and life-changing training.

Born in Uganda and coming from Congo, DRC, Ms. Bahati speaks three languages, Swahili, Kinyarwanda, and English.

Prior to earning the interpreter certificate, Ms. Bahati was interpreting at Kentucky Refugee Ministries as well as volunteering as an interpreter at a Catholic Church for the Congolese community by providing interpretation for mass and communication among church members.

The transition from being an informal interpreter to taking the training takes courage. Ms. Bahati told us, “my experience in taking the forty-hours of formal training was an opportunity to expand my scope of interpreting practice”. She found it highly informative and yet compatible with what she already knew. The class “prepared me how to overcome most challenges that are found in the interpreting professional and to do the work better by following the guidelines” Ms. Bahati proclaimed.

Her new career as an interpreter for ALS involves in-person as well as telephone interpreting. Prior to receiving the certificate, she faced challenges such as not getting enough hours, low pay, inconsistent schedules, and clients not showing up for the appointments. Ms. Bahati said having this certificate offers her the respect and recognition of being a true interpreter professional, including making a fair wage.

Ms. Bahati says, “I feel very proud of myself that I am able to facilitate communication to different people who have challenges with English and other languages like Kinyarwanda and Swahili. It gives me joy to help people and advocate for people who need help especially in language barriers”.

She goes on, “my personal story about interpreting is that when I came to United States, I was not able to expresses myself in English. One day I had an appointment at the hospital. For some reason the interpreter did not show up and I had to cancel my appointment. I felt so bad and I decided to make a difference. Furthermore, I also decided to go for nursing school to contribute in my community for both interpreting and work in health care”.

At Access Language Solutions, we have known the difference our services make for those clients on the receiving end. We now truly know the value of interpreter training and certification in improving the life chances of those who are professional interpreters and their families. This parallel process is what makes it so beautiful. Thank you to the Cralle Foundation for understanding this with their generous grant award.