Hello!

The association, Maux Sans Frontière * , was set up in early 2004. Its role is to put volunteer interpreters in contact with the Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine) Hospital . The interpreters assist communication between the hospital staff and the numerous foreign visitors to the Saint-Malo area who are taken ill or are involved in accidents (more than 600 per year since 2002, according to hospital statistics). They also help hospital administrative staff with questions relating to patients' individual situations, for instance in respect of insurance, forwarding medical files or repatriation. We believe this to be the first charitable organisation to provide a voluntary service of this kind in France .

The idea for setting up this service came from the Saint-Malo Junior Chamber (part of the Junior Chamber International network) , to whom we are grateful for all their efforts towards improving people's quality of life.

Now, in spring 2007, Maux Sans Frontière has over 55 members who can work in 14 languages, and we are always interested in having new recruits (including speakers of Italian and Asiatic and Central European languages). Not all our interpreters are professionals, but most of them are either French people who have spent several years abroad, or foreigners living in France. The motive of all of them is to be of service . They know that, for people who are ill or injured, it is of inestimable value to have with them someone who speaks their own language, whether it is to reassure them, to explain the situation they are in or, if appropriate, to contact their family abroad. Those foreigners whom we have helped during the past three years have said how much they have appreciated our assistance.

Interpreters are contacted direct by the hospital, thus ensuring the best management of the service.

If you would like to offer us your linguistic skills, or wish to support us by making a donation, please call one of the following numbers :

Anne JORET-LOWN (chairman) on (+33)(0)2 23 18 30 85

Yann DUFOUR (secretary) on (+33)(0)2 99 88 57 66

SAINT-MALO hospital on (+33)(0)2 99 21 21 21

This website also includes a membership form for interpreters wishing to join us and a form which interpreters can download to record for us the details of any services rendered at the hospital .

Goodbye and thank you for visiting this website. We appreciate your interest in Maux Sans Frontière .

* The name of the association is a play on words “Pain without borders” or “Words without borders”, the words “maux” and “mots” having the same pronunciation in French.