DOCUMENT TRANSLATION FOR CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS ASSISTING UKRAINIAN REFUGEES: CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES

Abstract

The Russian-Ukrainian war displaced millions of Ukrainians many of whom now rely on international and local organizations in their host countries for help with daily problems of integration. One such aspect of charitable work is providing translation services. This article analyses the challenges and strategies of English, Ukrainian, and Russian document translation for charitable organizations assisting Ukrainian refugees. Drawing on professional experience of collaboration with a charitable organization, the author discusses communication that ensures efficient management of translation projects, outlines the certification procedure that confirms the translator’s responsibility for the accuracy of translation, and examines the types of documents that Ukrainian refugees commonly need to have translated. The author describes in detail the formatting of the translated documents that is required to make them accessible and easily comprehensible. The article delves into the challenges that the translator is faced with when working with the documents of Ukrainian refugees, focusing on such issues as illegible handwriting and stamps, the low quality of the images of the original documents, typographical errors, abbreviations and terms, formatting intricacies, temporal limitations, and confidentiality. Analysing the process of proofreading that improves the quality of translation, the author argues that translation is a social activity that requires collaboration between the translator, fellow professionals, legal experts, clients, local actors and stakeholders. Finally, this article explores the tools and strategies that enable translators to work consistently and efficiently. It examines how the translator can use machine translators, online corpus dictionaries, document translation templates, guidelines, and other aids to provide reliable, timely, accurate, and helpful translation services to Ukrainian refugees.