Translation Services for a Life-skills Manual on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), Gender Based Violence (GBV) and HIV prevention for Traditional Male Initiates (English to seSotho at United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

Purpose of consultancy

UNFPA is the United Nations reproductive health and rights agency that contributes to the expansion of possibilities for women and young people to lead healthy and productive lives. It is the leading United Nations agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA, South Africa Country Office is seeking services of an Individual Consultant for Translation Services (English to seSotho) of a Life-skill Manual for GBVF/SRHR/HIV prevention for Traditional male initiates.

The UNFPA in partnership with the Eastern Cape House of Traditional & Khoisan  Leaders (EC HOT&KL) had identified Customary Male Initiation (CMI) as a potential strategic entry point for building positive male construction as well as expression of positive and non-violent masculinities for the passage of young boys into manhood. The ritual of circumcision as part of a rite transitioning boys to manhood is marked by the assumption of manhood responsibilities which to some extent are influenced and based on traditional male stereotypes, active sexual engagement thus leading to increased risks of acquiring sexually transmitted infections, unplanned pregnancies and committing incidents of gender based violence.

As means of maximizing potential gains of working with boys that are getting into manhood, UNFPA and the EC HOT&KL commissioned the development of a Life- skills Manual for Gender Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF), Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and HIV&AIDS prevention for traditional male initiates. The Life skills manual would be utilized as a tool to build the positive construction and expression of masculinity in the province by traditional male initiates.  Due to the various indigenous groups in the province who practice CMI, it is imperative to have the life-skills manual in local languages for ease of communication. 

The Eastern Cape province is mainly a rural province that is characterized by high poverty, illiteracy and unemployment rates. The current Provincial population is estimated to be at 6,676,590. The African population constitutes   86, 3% of the total population with isiXhosa being the most spoken language by 78% of the provinces population and English at 2, 5%. 

The UNFPA is supporting three priority districts in the Eastern Cape province, who are characterized by different cultural groups speaking different languages; i.e. 

• OR Tambo District: (mainly isiXhosa) 
• Alfred Nzo District   : (mainly seSotho) and 
• Nelson Mandela      : (mainly Afrikaans)

There is a need to translate the Life Skills Manual from English to seSotho for the following reasons:

• Better understanding of the content and communication
• Easy interaction and engagement with/on the content
• Culture appropriateness and sensitivity
• Fostering skills transfer and a positive attitude towards transferring the life skill/s
• Take informed decisions 
• Reach for both in and out of school youth aligned with “leaving no-one behind”

Scope of work: ((Description of services, activities, or outputs)

The overall objective of this assignment is to translate the available Life-skills Manual for GBVF/SRHR/HIV for Traditional male initiates from English to seSotho. The consultant is to ensure that the meaning of the translated information is interpreted correctly.

SCOPE OF WORK (Description of services, activities, or outputs)

The successful vendor is expected to work with the UNFPA to translate the 90 paged Life- skills Manual from English to seSotho.  The following are key activities for this assignment:

• Review already available Life skills manual document.
• Translate the English version to seSotho and develop draft documents. 
• Engage UNFPA on the draft Life skills manual translated document for quality checking. 
• Integrate inputs and submit final document for approval.
• Submit a print ready Life-skill Manual document

Duration and working schedule:

The assignment will commence from 7 August 2023 to 31 September 2023

Indicative breakdown of the consultancy days is as follows:

• Inception meeting with UNFPA and EC HOT&KL and submission of Inception report (1 days)
• Review and translate the Life- skills Manual (25 days)
• Engage UNFPA and EC HOT&KL for quality checking (1 days)
• Amend per input and present draft document (1 days) 
• Amend as per input and submit final print ready versions of the Manual (2 days)

Place where services are to be delivered:

UNFPA : SOUTH AFRICA – EASTERN CAPE OFFICE

(Delivery dates and how work will be delivered (e.g. electronic, hard copy etc.):

• See schedule above

Supervisory arrangements: 

The Consultant will be managed under the UNFPA Country Representative and will work closely with the UNFPA  Provincial Program Officer, UNFPA Communications Officer, UNFPA Gender Specialist under the overall supervision of the UNFPA Assistant representative.

Expected travel:

The Individual Consultant is expected to work both remotely (off-site/virtually) and be available to travel for field work and stakeholders engagement as appropriate

Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements
Qualification: A    Degree in Arts, Development Studies or equivalent fields with a major in African languages with specific reference to Sesotho 

Experience: At least 5 years’ experience in a translation and proof reading environment of Sesotho as a language and /or as a translator or writer of books in Sesotho language and/or lecturing of the Sesotho language

Functional Competency:

• Fluency in both English and Sesotho languages.
• Excellent communication skills (verbal and written)
• Excellent time management and project management skills
• Ability to utilize available software for translation

Language:  Excellent comprehension (speak, read and write) of both English and seSotho