Philadelphia is a polyglot city. This means residents speak many different languages. The City provides free translation for our services. Last year, the City provided services in 85 languages.
In 2022, the Office of Immigrant Affairs (OIA) and the Office of Innovation and Technology (OIT) collaborated on a project to improve translation quality in the City. OIA partnered with several community organizations that serve immigrant and multilingual populations and held focus groups with Philadelphia residents in their languages to learn how to better communicate with them. This project began wrapping up in June 2023. However, the need to listen and respond to Philly’s multilingual communities is ongoing.
Recognizing this need, OIA partnered with the Philadelphia City Fund to award stipends of $5000 to 10 Philadelphia organizations interested in taking ownership of continued community engagement this summer. These organizations are engaging community members in their own languages to help OIA and the City learn how to continue to improve support for residents who primarily use minority languages.
These organizations are dedicated to engaging the community throughout August, and their work will be highlighted during Philadelphia’s Welcoming Week (September 8 to 17), a celebration of Philly’s welcoming spirit to immigrants and refugees.
Below you can find information about the 10 organizations and their partnership with OIA. We encourage you to visit their websites to learn more about these great organizations!
African Family and Health Organization (AFAHO)
AFAHO is a community-based organization that provides African and Caribbean immigrants and refugees (ACIR) with health, human and educational services in Philadelphia. During the previous phase of our project, we worked with AFAHO to engage community members in French and Haitian Creole. Leyitha Achoute, a Cultural Health Navigator at AFAHO who helped facilitate previous groups, will lead the way in engaging members of the community in Arabic, French and Haitian Creole. AFAHO hopes to educate City government and residents alike about the linguistic barriers African and Caribbean immigrants uniquely face.
African and Middle Eastern Centers for Health and Development (AMEC)
AMEC is a migrant-led nonprofit addressing healthcare services and other needs as immigrants integrate into their new home here in Philly. Dr. Ismail Ibrahim and Dr. Ishraga Dousa will spearhead engagement with Arabic-speaking community members, focusing health, education and accessibility. Arabic speakers make up one of Philly’s most diverse language communities, and we are excited to learn from this brilliant team.
Asian Americans United (AAU)
A diverse organization united against oppression, AAU has a focus on art, education and justice for Asian Americans and all Philadelphians. Civic Engagement Director Wei Chen and colleagues will facilitate engagement in three Chinese dialects: Mandarin, Cantonese and Fuzhounese—a prevalent but under-recognized dialect in Philadelphia. Chinese is the 3rd most requested language for Philadelphia government services, according to the PHL Language Service Usage dashboard published earlier this year. Learn more about this organization at aaunited.org.
Bethany Christian Services of Greater Delaware Valley
Bethany’s focus is standing up for refugees, vulnerable children and families with social services and other support. They are engaging with three critical language communities in our city: Arabic, Russian and Ukrainian. Due to international conflicts, the need to support these language groups in our city is only growing with their local populations. We are excited to be working with Danielle Bossert, Svitlana Dovziy, Mohammed Qaissi and Aundrae Cassell on reaching these communities in Philly.
Feria Latinoamericana del Libro (LABF)
Feria Latinoamericana del Libro (Latin American Book Fair) is a free event that aims to unite authors, writers, illustrators, designers and readers of all ages to celebrate Latin American heritage, language, and culture. With a diverse program including storytelling, book releases, music, and artistic performances, LABF seeks to foster a strong reading culture within the Latin American community. Additionally, the fair provides a platform for writers to showcase their work and inspire literary creativity. Sponsored by Acción Colombia, Jael Conde is leading groups who will engage with the City’s Spanish-language glossary for quality and clarity.
Global Emergency Response and Assistance (GERA)
GERA is an international humanitarian organization dedicated to saving lives and improving long-term community sustainability. They prioritize preserving the dignity of life and empowering individuals and societies through human rights advocacy programs. The organization is driven by volunteers who are passionate about making a difference and aims to create a world where societies can effectively handle crises while maintaining resilience. Madona Ganda will lead GERA and OIA in engaging Krio and Mendi speakers from Sierra Leone, giving us more insight into how to support minority languages and West African populations.
GoPorter Consulting
GoPorter Consulting provides translation, immigration and education services to an international clientele. Based out of Philadelphia, the organization specializes in the affairs of West Africans living in North America. After several projects focusing on translation into West African languages, as well as joining our first OTF project, Liz Porter chose to focus French and Jula/Bambara (a pair of sister languages spoken across West Africa) based on her previous services to these communities here in Philadelphia.
Let’s Talk Philly! Conversation Circles
Let’s Talk Philly! Conversation Circles is an organization formed by immigrants and refugees from various backgrounds with the shared goal of enhancing community wellness and addressing challenges to social and economic integration. They achieve this by fostering language and leadership skills among their members. Sponsored by The Welcoming Center, Karen Cervera Noriega and team will work with residents in Spanish and Russian to explore and educate the public on issues of language in these communities.
Mi Salud Wellness Center
Mi Salud Wellness Center is dedicated to enhancing the overall health and wellbeing of underserved families in the Feltonville community, with services including health education, mental and physical wellness services, spiritual enrichment, and community referrals. Keila Canete leads Mi Salud in this partnership with OIA as they engage a diverse community of Spanish speakers with a focus on health and family needs.
Northeast Philadelphia Chinese Association (NEPCA)
The Northeast Philadelphia Chinese Association (NEPCA) is a grassroots community-based non-profit organization under the fiscal sponsorship of Culture Trust of Greater Philadelphia. Their mission is to support the Asian American community living in the Northeast Philadelphia neighborhoods to achieve cultural, education, and economic advancements and become contributors to the region. Pearl Huynh became a close partner of OIA during engagements with the Chinese-speaking community as part of our OTF project. She is paving forward new paths to improve Chinese-language engagement holistically in Philly with greater community input.
