‘You can imagine the joy that this brings’

1989… a momentous year.

The year that saw the Berlin Wall fall, the student-led protest in Tiananmen Square, Nicolae Ceaușescu overthrown in Romania, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Hillsborough Disaster… And Tim Berners-Lee submitting his original proposal for the World Wide Web.

All these events changed the world…

And 1989 also saw another world-changing event begin in Senegal – the start of the translation of the Bible into the Saafi-Saafi language.

A great milestone

It started with two European linguists settling into the Saafi community in Senegal. They prayed for a Saafi man to help them get to know the community and culture. Their prayers were answered, and that man – Aliou – proved vital.

Aliou and his sister Amy show the Saafi-Saafi New Testament

Aliou has a deep knowledge of his community and its history (something very important to Saafi hearts). He knows everyone, including the community elders.

After years of research, and the development of a writing system for the language, translation work began in 2003, with the first chapter of Genesis.

And now, finally, after 35 years of dedicated labour and investment, came the launch day of the Saafi-Saafi New Testament together with Genesis and Exodus.

Augustin Thiandoum, a member of the Saafi-Saafi Bible translation team, says:

‘It was not easy work, but we thank God. The programme has lasted many years, with much hardship. Now we have reached a great milestone, and God has rewarded us with this New Testament in our own language.’

Image of Saafi Bible translator Aliou presenting the Saafi-Saafi New Testament, with its two covers in Roman and Ajami scripts

Aliou presents the Saafi-Saafi New Testament, with its two covers in Roman and Ajami scripts

The beautiful book

In the run-up to the event, the translation team travelled across the area. They showed the book to pastors, priests, and imams while inviting them to the event.

Augustin says:

‘Everywhere we went, people appreciated the Saafi translation, the beautiful book cover. They especially appreciated the availability of both Roman and Ajami* scripts, allowing everyone to read the book.’

And so, early on the morning of 11 April 2026 in the small coastal town of Popenguine, several hundred people crowded into the shade of large tents.

Two of the assembled Saafi leaders in deep conversation

The atmosphere was both solemn and joyous. The Saafi people had come for the launch of the New Testament (plus Genesis and Exodus) in their own language.

Throughout the celebration, local community and religious leaders thanked the translation team. Not only for the language and translation work itself, but also for elevating and preserving the Saafi language, culture, and identity.

The interest in the book was huge. Augustin comments:

‘The day after the ceremony, many people contacted me, asking for books, audio players, and SD cards. [These included the translated Scriptures so they could listen to them on their phones]. Aliou and I continue to distribute all these materials among the Saafi community.’

Impact and hope

A few months after the launch event, the impact of having the New Testament in their own language is becoming apparent.

Image of Saafi man François saying ‘You can imagine the joy this brings’

François: ‘You can imagine the joy this brings’

Aliou and Augustin now travel regularly throughout the community promoting the New Testament.

They gather people together, read aloud from Scripture, and encourage people to use it.

As François, a teacher from Popenguine, says:

‘Not everyone understands French. Not everyone understands Wolof. But here, in this environment, people understand Saafi-Saafi. If the gospel reaches them in their language, you can imagine the joy this brings to these people.’

Image of a Saafi man avidly reading his New Testament

A Saafi man avidly reads his New Testament

And the launch of the New Testament builds on the work going on at one of the preschools, where children learn to read and write the Saafi-Saafi language.

Testing has found that children from this preschool perform better than the local average when they later begin French school.

The language work that has been done brings hope for the future.

Pray with the Saafi community:

Praise God for the distribution of 20 New Testaments in a village where there are no known Christians. The people there received the books with great joy. Pray that salvation will come to this village as they read and hear God’s word in the language they understand best.
Pray for the ongoing work of distributing the New Testament among the community.
Pray for unity among the Saafi believers, that through that unity and the availability of God’s word in their language, hearts will be opened.

*Ajami is a set of Arabic-derived scripts, adapted to enable the writing of certain African languages. It includes adaptations of the Arabic script so that sounds that do not appear in Standard Arabic can be written using modifications to pre-existing letters (such as additional dots or lines).

^†data from Ethnologue.com

‘You can imagine the joy that this brings’

1989… a momentous year.

A great milestone

The beautiful book

Impact and hope

Pray with the Saafi community:

Ready to make an impact?

Help unlock God’s word

‘You can imagine the joy that this brings’

1989… a momentous year.

A great milestone

The beautiful book

Impact and hope

Pray with the Saafi community:

Chasing zero!

The 800th Bible!

Time to celebrate!

Ready to make an impact?

Help unlock God’s word