Giving Compass' Take:

• The Conversation takes a close look at NGOs in the developing world and finds that workers often aren't proficient in local languages, hampering communication and exacerbating distrust.

• This emphasizes the need to make linguistic and cultural knowledge a priority for international aid groups, especially in light of the Oxfam scandal.

• Want to be a humanitarian in the field? Read this first.

After the Oxfam sexual exploitation scandal in Haiti hit the headlines earlier this year, 22 aid agencies published an open letter declaring that they would “take every step to right our wrongs and eradicate abuse in our industry”. They made a commitment to “listen and take action”.

There is nothing new about NGOs claiming that they “listen” to communities and act on their feedback. A cursory glance at NGO publicity materials reveals that they typically claim that they empower communities by listening and involving them in decisions about aid projects.

It is therefore reasonable to assume that aid workers share the same language as local communities (or at least that they use good interpreters). Otherwise, how could aid providers and aid recipients communicate with one another effectively? You might also assume that it is relatively easy to translate basic development terms into local languages. Development NGOs promote common goals, such as gender equality and human rights. Surely organizations must use common interpretations of these words when interacting with the people that they aim to help?

But our research suggests that this is typically not the case. We conducted a three-year project to explore the role of languages in international development, in conjunction with UK-based NGO INTRAC. We interviewed dozens of NGOs, officials from the UK’s Department of International Development (DfID), and conducted field research in developing countries. Our data led us to arrive at three startling conclusions.

First, we found that languages generally have a low priority in development.
Second, many development concepts that are essential to NGO work are not directly translatable into other languages.
Third, these language problems have negative effects on community participation, and the trust that communities have in NGOs.

Read the full article about NGO workers failing to know the local language at The Conversation.