Success of translation service for ethnic minorities speaks for itself

Hong Kong's only social enterprise that provides interpreters for ethnic minorities in hospitals is a success story many in the hard-nosed business sector would like to emulate.

It was financially sound within its first year - it was launched in 2010 - and now makes a net annual profit of more than HK$500,000.

Hong Kong TransLingual Services was founded by a group of social workers who realised that ethnic minorities were facing formidable language barriers when they sought medical help.

"The ethnic minorities, such as Pakistanis, need to communicate clearly with doctors to let them know what's wrong. And they need to understand doctors' instructions, like how often do they need to take any pills prescribed," said operations manager Ryan Choi Wai-hei.

Choi added that the government's Enhancing Self-Reliance Through District Partnership Programme backed the idea with a HK$700,000 grant in 2010.

Choi said HK$400,000 was spent on purchasing computers and other office equipment, while the remaining HK$300,000 was put aside to pay office staff for two years.

The enterprise now has 90 interpreters who speak 20 languages, including Urdu, Punjabi and Sri Lanka's Sinhala.