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Completion of the longed-for New Testament is in reach! Families damaged through alcohol and despair now taste hope and healing.
Thank you! This project has been fully funded for the year!
Funds to meet this year's goals
the Need
For generations the Birari people, known as local healers, gathered herbs and medicinal plants from the densely forested valley they call home. Traditional life did not include formal schooling, and few Birari can read or write in any language. Language barriers and isolation limit their access to hygiene information and advanced healthcare facilities. As a result, people often die from preventable diseases. Many in the community turn to alcohol to cope, which in turn causes violent outbreaks and broken relationships. Others seek help in the church but struggle to grasp the gospel because Scripture is being communicated to them in a language they don’t clearly understand.
The Project
Project team members trained by our national partner in South Asia have made a commitment to:
Develop an alphabet.
Publish literacy materials and easy-reader Bible story books.
Translate the New Testament and distribute it in print and audio formats.
Craft oral Bible stories and compose Scripture-based songs.
Hold mother-tongue learning centres in different villages to help children in school and teach them other vital topics such as Bible stories and first aid.
BIble Translation Progress
Drafted
100
Community-Checked
100
Quality-Checked
100
New! (2024-2025)
A Chance to Learn
No one thought Amit had much of a future – not even Amit. His father had walked out on the family. His schoolteachers had labelled him lazy, defiant, and incapable of learning. His was among the poorest families in the village. But Amit’s mother saw something in her son others didn’t. She worked hard every day to manage the household and teach him valuable life lessons, sure it was just a matter of unlocking the boy’s potential.
When a translator from the Birari project moved into their village and started a learning centre, she eagerly introduced them to Amit. For the first time, someone else saw her son’s potential. The translator and his wife took Amit under their wing, and helped support the boy’s education.
Each day, he came to the translator’s home where they tutored him in all the core subjects free of charge. Each lesson, his confidence grew. Their love and kindness broke through the anger Amit carried inside, and he began to emulate their behaviour. “He completely changed his way of living and now he is going for further higher studies,” rejoices Amit’s mother. “From his family, he is the first boy who is progressing in his studies.” This February, Amit wrote and passed his board examinations!
From Lost to Found
Krish enjoyed working as a mother-tongue translator. It was exciting to see a book come together in his own language. This week, Krish was drafting the Gospel of Matthew. He was writing out a translation for the parable of the lost sheep when his hand froze mid-sentence. His mind flooded with memories. Krish realized that he was a lost sheep. He prayed to the Lord, confessing the ways in which he had wandered away from God. Later that day, Krish felt compelled to share his experience with a colleague on the project team, who admitted he in turn felt deeply convicted by Krish’s story. They repented together and shared in the joy of God’s grace and forgiveness. Since then, Krish asks God every day to purify his heart and body.
Medical Camp
Due to the isolated location of their homes, the Birari people rarely see a doctor when they’re sick. Herbal remedies passed down through generations sometimes help, but significant conditions often go untreated. Most people die in their early fifties. With the help of community facilitators and social coordinators, the project team conducted a medical camp in one of the interior villages. Two professional doctors diagnosed and treated approximately 100 patients from the area, and the project team shared mother-tongue information about home hygiene practices that help prevent malaria, typhoid, and dengue fever. “It was a great breakthrough for us to show God’s love to the Birari people in this way,” says the project leader.
“I have tasted the love of Jesus Christ in my life.”
Birari Mother-Tongue Translator
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