Tojolabal Remote Translation Office (RTO), Mexico. For many years, the Tojolabal translation team worked at the Central America branch, located near Mexico City. However, the Tojolabal language is spoken mainly in Altamirano and Las Margaritas—nearly 1,000 kilometers (620 mi) away! As a result, the translators found it difficult to keep their Tojolabal-language skills current. And the branch struggled to find qualified brothers and sisters nearby to help with Tojolabal translation and audio recordings.

For these reasons, the Writing Committee of the Governing Body wanted to relocate the translation team to a Tojolabal-speaking area. To achieve this, the branch decided to buy and renovate a building. Doing so was more cost-effective than constructing or renting offices.

One translator explains how he has benefited: “In the ten years that I worked as a translator at the branch, I did not meet a single family nearby that spoke my language. Now our office is located in the heart of the area where Tojolabal is spoken. I interact with Tojolabal speakers every day. This has enriched my vocabulary and improved the quality of my work.”

Brother Lázaro González, a member of the Central America Branch Committee, answered this question while discussing the Tojolabal Remote Translation Office project. “In our branch territory, we have limited resources. So without the support of the whole association of brothers, it would be impossible to build translation offices for our indigenous fellow believers. The funds provided by brothers all around the world have made it possible to bring translators closer to the communities where their languages are spoken. We give our sincere thanks to our worldwide brotherhood for their generous support.”