LEEDS LINGUISTS’ ORGANISATION SUPPORTS EBOLA MEDICS

Leeds, England: 10 October 2014 – the International School of Linguists (ISL) is working with medics due to fly out to Sierra Leone to provide training in language and the cultural issues of dealing with Ebola victims and their families.

ISL has appointed a Sierra Leone national, who is also a qualified tutor, to carry out the training, which provides basic language skills in Krio and cultural information. This will help the medics deal with the sensitive situations presented by people with Ebola and their families, to help the recovery of patients and also to prevent the further spread of the disease.

Rob Mynett, General Manager of ISL, says: “In Sierra Leone it is customary to wash the body of a deceased relative.  If that person has died of Ebola then this is not possible, which causes tremendous stress.

“Our training has been developed to ensure that medics are aware of these issues and are able to deal with them with compassion and understanding.”

Alongside the training, ISL has created a pocket guide to basic phrases in Krio which include greetings and questions about symptoms that could signal a case of Ebola, along with cultural information and advice on how to make patients and their families more comfortable.

The International School of Linguists has already trained 207 military medics and is now in discussions to provide training to the various relief organisations working to fight the epidemic. 

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Notes for Editors

The International School of Linguists (ISL) is an independent learning organisation and Ascentis Awarding Centre, providing unrivalled expertise in linguistic assessment, training and nationally-recognised Accreditation. Since being established in 2010, ISL has created and delivered courses to support thousands of linguists and clients across the world. Its expertise enables corporate clients to protect their brands and both corporate and public-sector organisations to protect people working in challenging environments.

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