Population

500,000

The community

Located in an isolated part of Asia, the three Gerad communities are farmers, cattle herders and shepherds. They retain rich community cultures, centred around key life events such as births and marriages. Typically very poor, opportunities for education are limited and available only in the national language, not in those languages the people speak at home and consider their own.

The need

There are numerous active but hidden churches in the region – tiny communities of Christians who face persecution for following Jesus, but who have never read his words in their language. Having the Bible in their own language will build up and encourage them in their faith and enable other speakers of their languages to meet Jesus through the Bible too. The project started because the churches asked for help with translation work, so they could have the Bible in their own language for the first time.

The project

Working in three languages spoken by communities in the region, translation work is beginning with the gospels of Mark and Luke. Translators will then progress to 1 and 2 Corinthians and Genesis, which churches have requested to strengthen their biblical foundations in the face of the religious narratives of their neighbours. The languages have never been written down before, so the work includes creating a written form for each.

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