Blast from the Past!
Interpreter Travels
Thank you from byDania
Leona Parr-Hamel
April 18, 1964 - December 12, 2010
Many WAVLI members will have already heard this news via text message, FaceBook, phone call, or in person.
It is with a sense of great professional and personal loss that I let WAVLI members know that, after a brief, valiant fight with cancer, Leona Parr-Hamel has passed away.
Leona was a pillar in the Vancouver Interpreting and Deaf communities.
My last professional discussion with Leona showed her depth of caring for this profession; a direct quote "For WAVLI, I would be willing to do just about anything". And that is what we have seen Leona do time and again. She is already missed!!
The many comments from her family and friends have been tied to Leona's laugh, her infectious sense of fun, and her supportiveness to all those she met.
The Celebration of Life service for Leona will be held as follows:
Massey Theatre
735 8th Ave, New Westminster, BC.
Saturday, January 8th at 1pm.
Interpreters (and DB Interpreters ) will be provided.
If you have questions, please contact: interpreter@shaw.ca
Wishing you all peace in your hearts as we come to terms with loss at a time of celebration.
~Jessica Siegers, WAVLI President
Deaf Access Office
Imagine a world in where sign language interpreters are the norm, not the exception. Agencies, hospitals, police officers and schools do not put off or haggle about bringing in interpreters or making everything accessible. Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? No worries- the Deaf Access Office fairies are here to make it a reality!
We are working towards this goal as a community but in the meantime we are focused and dedicated to educating and advocating to the general public, service providers and other organizations for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deaf-Blind community.
Paige Thombs, Melissa Campbell and Kristen Pranzl (who will be off on maternity leave for the next year) have been working hard towards making this vision a reality. Over the last year, Paige, Melissa and Kristen have started and finished several large projects and collaborated on other projects with other service providers and agencies.
Some of the more notable results DAO has had this year is finally getting the Insurance Corporation of BC to recognize their responsibility to pay for sign language interpreters and to make it policy. DAO will be working on developing a “cheat sheet” that we can send to various ICBC offices around BC to use as a quick reference when they need to book sign language or oral interpreters for meetings or appointments.
DAO is also permanently on the training curriculum for the police recruit training at the Justice Institute of BC. To date, we have presented to approximately 7 classes of recruits and will continue to present as the curriculum rotates. We were also invited to train the whole New Westminster Police Department which counted for a total of seven workshops. This led to a partnership between a retired police officer who is now advocating in his community to get E-Comm to accept text 911 calls. Also, DAO hopes to do training for the Vancouver Police Department.
Some of you may be aware about the court services training project that DAO tacked starting about two years ago. We have since presented to most of the court services offices in B.C. and we will be building on this as we will be presenting at the Judges and Justices of Peace conference in November of 2010. This is exciting for us because we are starting to reach out and educate more and more individuals in various roles and this is beginning to lead to more opportunities and networking which will result in more people being aware of services, resources and their obligations to make the community accessible for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Deaf-Blind and interpreting communities.
We encourage any community member or ally to contact us if they have an idea of a project that we can collaborate on, as well as if they experience any accessibility issue and want our support. Again, I would like to emphasize that the Deaf Access Office is focused on accessibility issues and projects but we are also able to address individual requests if needed.
Contact us!
Kristen Pranzl (return date in 2011) kristen.pranzl@gov.bc.ca
Paige Thombs: paige.thombs@gov.bc.ca
Melissa Campbell: melissa.campbell@gov.bc.ca
Blast from the Past!
from the February 1996 issue of The Ripple
Am I the Only One?
by Jan Humphrey
Professions are marked by several identifiable features:
*a theoretical base and required education or training;
*professional licensing or certification process; and
*"professional demeanour" which refers to conducting oneself in a professional manner
It is the latter descriptor which I am addressing in this article. I realize I have been in the field a long time and perhaps my definition of "professional demeanour" reflects my age and the battle scars earned as our professiona has emerged, but I believe a part of professional demeanour involves our choices regarding attire. Specifically, I believe interpreters should dress in a manner befitting professional status. This is an even more serious concern given the fact that most people we interact with in the larger community often assume we are volunteers, family members, or do-gooders. They are largely unaware of the training required to acquire a second language and to develop interpreting skills necessary to deliver equivalent messages between English and ASL, or our professional associations and certification system. Thus, the majority community still does not associate Sign Language interpreters with "professional" occupations.
I believe it is incumbent on each of us as practitioners to reflect professionalism in the selection of our attire. Last summer I walked past a class of adult students being taught by a woman in her 50's. She was dressed in a skirt and blouse or dress -- I have never seen this woman in slacks. She was standing, presenting a combination lecture and class discussion around the topic at hand. I was astonished to see one interpreter dressed in
Yes, I know some lawyers (and other professionals) who wear blue jeans and runners but they don't dress that way in the courtroom or when representing their already established and respected profession to the larger community.
Unless we are interpreting for a picnic or in certain settings, blue jeans should not be part of our work ensemble -- including those interpreters who work in educational settings. Likewise, there are limited settings where runners are appropriate. Of course, practitioners can over-dress to the discomfort and embarrassment of others, as well. I am not saying you should dress in formal attire to interpret for that Deaf individual getting one week of training in the paper mill or meat packing plant.
I implore my colleagues to think twice about the image they engender for all of us when you show up at a job:
*in a hotel where speakers are dressed in suits and ties/dresses with heals - and you have on stretch pants, a t-shirt, and "dress" runners;
*in a lawyer's office to interpret a meeting - and you show up with mustard stains on your shirt from eating a hot dog in your car or mud on your shoes from leaving for your appointment;
*in a preschool, interpreting between a Deaf teacher or preschool child as they play on the floor, do fingerpaint, and make paper mache - and you show up in hose, heels, and a skirt that restricts freedom of movement (or suit, tie, vest and pants that likewise restrict movment or activities at hand).
Our choice in clothing reflects whether or not we take ourselves and our responsibilities seriously. It reflects on the amount of peparation and thought I have given before doing a job. Selections in clothing reflect whether I have made an investment in acquiring some of the basic "equipment" for professional practice -- an ensemble of clothing appropriate for various settings, which communicates professionalism to others I encounter. And yes, it reflects my understanding of my responsibility to helping the larger community develop respect for my professional field and my fellow practitioners.
Interpreter Travels
It was my first trip to South East Asia. My husband, Joe was invited to be the keynote speaker at the South East Asian Catholic Pastoral Workers for the Deaf Conference in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. I went along as the interpreter. Most of the participants were deaf representing 12 different countries. It was amazing to see the different sign languages and it was truly a team effort to make sure everyone understood the workshops. At one point we had the presentation given in ASL, voiced to English, then orally interpreted in Korean to a Deaf participant who then interpreted into Korean Sign Language! We also had a hearing Sister who is fluent in Chinese sign language and did all the interpreting for the Hong Kong/Macau group. It was really a wonderful experience and we all enjoyed learning each other’s signs. It was a revelation that even in the basic Catholic Mass itself, we all use different signs. I learned many beautiful new signs.
After Malaysia we headed to Bangalore, India where Joe had worked over thirty years ago. At that time as a young man Joe lived for one year in Bangalore where he introduced sign language at the school for the deaf, all the programs had been oral up to that point. Joe also set up a deaf leadership program along with Fr. Harry Stocks. To Joe's amazement many of the deaf students, now all grown up showed up to meet "White Joe" as he is affectionately known there. One of the most touching moments was when a man brought his own deaf son who is now ten, the same age that the man was when he met Joe. The man introduced his son to Joe saying "this man saved me, he taught me sign language and showed me that you can be a proud deaf person". It was overwhelming. That man now has a successful career. Two of Joe's other students are now teachers of the deaf. Many other deaf people came out to meet Joe; they had never met him but had heard “The Legend of White Joe" and his work in India long ago. Joe was given a list of questions from the Bangalore deaf community; they are hoping he will return to work with them! One person said "We do not care that you are white, or that you are old, we need you". It was very touching.
After Bangalore we headed to Singapore where Joe spoke at the Singapore Association of the Deaf on the recent ICED conference, as well as his Doctoral Thesis "Sign Language Interpreter Shortage in California: Perceptions of Stakeholders". In each community we visited we were overwhelmed with the kindness of the deaf communities. We also realized how very fortunate we are in the Western world. The three weeks we were in Asia flew by. It truly is a small world.
Submitted by Eleanor McLaughlin
Thank You
byDania Designs sends out a big THANK YOU to all of the support we have received over the years since the inception of this two woman jewelry-making team. We are getting busier and busier with our new ventures.
Our accomplishments include being the exhibitors of the month at Hycroft Mansion and being nominated one of the top 30 jewelry designers in Vancouver. Most recently we have been invited to participate in the Vancouver Wedding Show and Vancouver Fashion Week.
Our trip to Nepal in May also boosted us into a whole new level with handmade silver jewelry with high-quality semi-precious stones. We have designed some amazing new Toggle Charms, Earrings and Rings. There will be more designs to come!
We look forward to more exciting times and want to express our gratitutde for all your support. Check out www.bydania.com for upcoming events and join us on Facebook under byDania Designs Ltd and Twitter under bydaniadesigns.
Thanks again,
Dani & Tania
byDania Designs
Hand-Made Jewelry
www.bydania.com
designs@bydania.com
Dani 604-857-3264
Tania 604-762-6264
