Working with the Winye
Read how Ben used his 5-week Bible college placement to help a group in Burkina Faso translate the book of Titus into their language for the first time...
Just after New Year I boarded a plane headed to Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso is a French-speaking country in West Africa and I was going there to do translation work as a 5-week placement for my college course.
When I arrived in Ouagadougou I spent the first few days getting used to the country, going to the market to buy stuff for the rest of my stay and receiving some orientation. I also spent time preparing for the work that I would be doing, which was to provide exegesis (how to best understand the meaning of a text) for a team of Winyé speakers, as they translated the book of Titus into their language.
After the preparation time I was driven to a town called Boromo, which is halfway between Burkina Faso's two major cities. The two hour journey was a great opportunity to see some wildlife and take in the beautiful African landscapes.
Upon arrival I was greeted by the leader of the translation team and spent the first day and a bit living with him and his family. It took me several days to get back into the swing of French, having not spoken it since A-levels. Anyone who has ever lived in a non-English speaking context, where your only option for communication is in another language, will understand where I’m coming from.
The next day was a Sunday and the opportunity to go to the local church. I was quite excited about this; meeting with people who worship God in a different style. The church was a bit like a barn with small wooden pews and they still had the Christmas decorations hanging from the rafters. As the people started to sing in their own languages, myself the only white man there, I felt a bit overwhelmed with the privilege of being able to join with these Christians.
The next day involved meeting the team and providing a short overview to the book of Titus and outlining some of the potential difficulties in translation (crazily this was all in French!). The team and I then spent the next few weeks working through the book. I would outline issues and explain passages to the translators who would then translate it into their language. They would then read back their translation and it would be checked for accuracy and meaning.
It was a long process with lots of difficulties. Often this was because there was a word or concept that was difficult to represent in the target language.
On one of the days we had the opportunity to motorbike out to a small village north of Boromo. It is one of the main Winyé speaking villages and was a great opportunity to hear Winyé being spoken. The day was spent revising a translated section of Luke. It was incredible being among the first people to have ever heard it read publicly. What a privilege!
As well as translating Titus there were opportunities to see "Alphabétisation". Up until now the Winyé language has primarily been an oral language, (some literacy classes have been held there in the past). If people are to read the translated materials, they have to learn how to read and write in their language.
At these sessions there were people of all ages, who wanted to read and write (you could say become literate). I also had the chance to go into a local school and share a bit about myself.
At the weekends and in the evenings I often had the chance to do a bit of exploring, either on my own or with a group of people. In the evenings I would often just walk out into the bush and explore a bit. One weekend we walked to a nearby river in an attempt to find elephants. Although a great adventure, the elephants were not to be found.
Throughout the stay in Boromo, I lived with a local pastor and his family. It was nice to eat their local foods and since coming back I’ve definitely missed some of their meals.
At the end of the weeks in Boromo we had completed the book of Titus and had had it checked over by local Christians. It was amazing to be able to bring back a copy of this first edition translation.
I recently attempted to read the first section out-loud in a service at college. I tried to show them the privilege of being able to hear this translation that will probably never be heard outside of this small area in Burkina Faso. It’s amazing that I was even involved.
After we had finished I headed back to the capital to spend a few days exploring the city, writing up a report and being debriefed by the amazing team of people who work in Ouagadougou. I then headed back from sunny Africa to cold and wet England. I hadn’t been bitten by a single mozzie!
Throughout my time in Burkina Faso I learned a lot about myself and our culture. I learned the immense gift that it is to have the Bible in English and even the choice of multiple translations. I was also constantly bombarded with poverty.
Having grown up as a slave to the consumer machine that is the West, I found it very difficult to see people in poor conditions; to see the people who grow the mangoes that we buy on special offer in Tesco. I do not have the answers yet. Perhaps, I’m not even willing to hear them. What would it look like to give up everything for the lost, the dying and the starving? Jesus? Does my following him stretch that far? Perhaps, I still really think it’s possible to serve both God and money! I think these are serious questions that all must answer to.
