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Kassin churchgoers are committed to making the New Testament accessible to those who never learned to read and would like to listen to an audio recording.
Thank you! This project has been fully funded for the year!
Funds to meet this year's goals
the Need
The Kassin people are spread out across three regions of their country. They are low on the social ladder of their country and are therefore underprivileged. They eke out an existence through hard labour on their farms or factories. Kassin people speak a unique language and pass on oral traditions from generation to generation; they have little knowledge of the written national language. Living in poverty and experiencing a loss of hope, many struggle with alcohol addiction.
Kassin believers translated the New Testament into their language, and now the church is asking for more so they can understand God’s great plan of redemption for humanity and gain critical tools for reaching their community with the hope of the gospel.
The Project
Project team members trained by our national partner in South Asia have made a commitment to:
Translate selections of the Old Testament including the book of Psalms.
Make the New Testament available in audio and digital formats.
Publish literacy manuals that teach people how to read and write Kassin.
BIble Translation Progress
Drafted
4
Community-Checked
0
Quality-Checked
0
New! (2024-2025)
A Book for Kalyani
Kalyani and Sunil spoke Kassin and the wider trade language, using both to run a successful chicken shop. They had passed their work ethic on to their two children, who managed to stay in school right through to senior levels.
One day, a man came into the shop and struck up a discreet conversation. He explained that he worked as a Bible translator working to create resources in the Kassin language. Kalyani and Sunil were excited to find out that they had already published a Kassin New Testament, and that the translator was now working on translating Old Testament books. The man handed Kalyani a copy of the New Testament in her language. She opened it right away and started to read. The words leapt off the page. This Scripture was fascinating.
Kalyani thanked the man and assured him they would read the New Testament often at home. She couldn’t wait to show this book to her children. As he departed, she thanked the translator again, and he thanked her in return, saying that seeing her excitement and joy had spurred him to continue the work.
Overcoming Stereotypes
In the traditional Kassin culture, women and girls are often viewed as less valuable than their male counterparts. When resources are limited, sons go to school while daughters are kept home. It is assumed that girls are not capable of learning as well or working as hard as the boys. Instead, a Kassin girl honours her family by marrying well and bearing sons of her own. These deeply ingrained attitudes are changing, albeit slowly. Certainly, the project’s literacy classes are helping young Kassin women to reach their potential and prove assumptions of inequality wrong in the process. When asked to reflect on some of the most valuable lessons they have learned during the project, the project leaders said, “Do not underestimate girls or women. Two of our mother-tongue translators are unmarried girls and they have been persistent in their work.”
Pre-Production
Many Kassin speakers, especially those in more remote areas, cannot yet read or write their language. Therefore, project facilitators Yanak and Tala are focussed on developing an audio recording of the Kassin New Testament. First, they need to recruit a cast of amateur voice actors from the local community. Yanak and Tala worked with local churches to identify potential speakers. One of the recording technicians even came to stay for several days and together they visited 20 different Kassin villages searching for people willing to lend their voices to the project. These auditions identified several talented, enthusiastic readers. Some local churches even agreed to help send people for recording. Through many phone calls with the national partner’s recording technicians, Yanak has arranged for all the proper equipment for the recording.
“This is one of the challenging and most needed translation projects. . . . Praying for the Lord to make a breakthrough.”
Project Facilitator
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