To help the world combat the Covid-19 pandemic, Alison launched the course Coronavirus – What you need to know. In order to make sure that no one was excluded from accessing possibly life-saving information, Alison committed to translating the course into as many languages as possible. To achieve this ambitious goal, Alison reached out to its community of Learners, seeking volunteers willing to use their language skills to help translate the course and spread important information on coronavirus. Parisa Ahmadi translated the course into Persian and played her part in spreading free learning that has helped save lives.
Parisa, tell us a bit about yourself and your background.
I am Parisa and I am 23 years old. I live with my parents, five younger sisters, my husband, and my little son. We moved from our home country Afghanistan to Malaysia in 2017. As refugees, are not yet allowed to study here in Malaysia so I have begun searching and studying short online courses. I am an online learner. I fill my free time with my favourite things such as writing fiction and painting. You can see my work here.
How did you learn that Alison was looking for translators for its coronavirus course?
Because I am a student of Alison I received an email saying that, due to the current difficult situation, Alison is going to spread their coronavirus course all around the world.
Why did you offer to translate our coronavirus course?
First of all, it’s free and easy to access for all so I think it’s good for Persian speakers to be able to access it online. And secondly, I love volunteering.
Why is it important that everyone has access to important information on coronavirus?
This is a pandemic so it’s really important we understand how to keep both ourselves and others safe and healthy. We all need to help spread information and help to protect lives.
Tell us a little about your method when translating.
I must say that I really enjoyed my days working with Alison’s translation team because the team coordinator responded quickly and was helpful. Regarding my method, I translated first via Google Translate and then made changes as they were needed. All the sheets and tables were provided by the publishing team. I just had to put my translated versions into the tables.
Why is free learning so important and why is it important to translate it into many languages?
Free learning provides an OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL, especially for those who are not allowed to access alternative education. There is no barrier, discrimination or limit, and there are many other benefits. If e-lessons are thought not to be as good as physical classes, I say it is as effective and it is available for everyone. So to export free learning, we need to translate it.
Have you been learning through Alison during the pandemic? How has the lockdown been for you?
Yes! But there were many problems for many people around us so learning was not fun, but at least I could personally learn new things.
What would you say to people who might be interested in translating for Alison?
This is a great path for whoever is keen to help others.
If you’d like to play your part in overcoming the coronavirus pandemic by helping Alison give people access to the information necessary to keep themselves and their loved ones safe, please get in touch.
