In Rural Missouri, Interpreters Are Key To Refugee Health Care

[Sherman A1]

At a pediatric clinic in Kirksville, Mo., a young boy is waiting in an exam room to be vaccinated. A nurse explains the shots to his mother, and Lisette Chibanvunya translates.

Chibanvunya is one of two Congolese interpreters hired by the Northeast Health Council to help the clinic care for refugees and immigrants from central Africa.

She first came to town to study at Truman State University in 2013.

Chibanvunya says, "When I came I faced discrimination, because they didn’t have a lot of black people." But now, she says, "They start accepting people because they finally understand that people kind of decided to make it home."

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/rural-missouri-interpreters-are-key-refugee-health-care