top of page
The hope of the New Testament is coming for the few believers in this marginalized language community who live in villages with air thickened by emissions from nearby industry.
the Need
The Rabas people first immigrated to South Asia from a distant region, and they now live scattered among other ethnic groups, dispersed throughout 100 different villages. Even though they live in close proximity to other people groups, their language and culture is completely different from neighbouring languages, so the Rabas people keep to themselves.
A few people have learned enough of the regional language to gain employment in commerce; however, most people in the community hire themselves out as day labourers, having no land of their own to farm. Very few Rabas people attend school beyond fifth grade and therefore do not qualify for paying jobs in factories or the government. Downtrodden, many people in the Rabas communities struggle with alcohol addiction.
A handful of Rabas believers attend churches in nearby districts, but they struggle to understand services held in a language they hardly speak. They long to have God’s Word in their own language so they can grow in their faith. In addition to connecting people with God’s Word in the language they understand best, the project will help foster confidence and hope.
The Project
Project team members from our national partner in South Asia have made the commitment to:
Develop an alphabet.
Translate the New Testament and make it available to those who want it.
Develop literacy manuals.
Hold mother-tongue learning centres in Rabas villages to help children succeed in school and teach them other vital topics such as first aid.
BIble Translation Progress
Drafted
17
Community-Checked
7
Quality-Checked
7
New! (2024-2025)
Progress
Teejak remembers the situation when the project team first visited villages: “The Rabas community had little to no interest in education. Children spent their days at home or helping in the fields, with no vision for the future beyond the traditions they had always known.” Isolated by language barriers and lacking access to resources, the people saw little value in formal education. “Illiteracy was widespread, and there was no sense of urgency to change.”
Embracing this challenge, the team launched awareness programs, connected with the mission hospital to provide critical services, and engaged local families in many heartfelt conversations. Slowly, they started to see the impact of their dedicated outreach.
“Today, we can proudly say that seven children from this village are attending school,” rejoices Teejak. Four families have begun to actively support their children's schooling, recognizing the importance of learning for the future of their community. “This may seem like a small number, but it represents a vital shift in mindset. These families and children are paving the way for others to follow,” says Teejak.
Taking Action
When the project facilitators first arrived in the Rabas villages, they quickly noticed that many people were living in poor conditions but lacked the resources they needed to improve their living way of living. Most had even lost hope of ever making their situation better. But things are slowly changing.
One village leader mentioned the need for information on how to have better health and hygiene. When the team heard him say, “It would be good if any hospital is coming forward to create awareness about cleanliness and hygiene,” they quickly partnered with a local Christian hospital to offer a health awareness program. In October, people of all ages gathered to learn health and hygiene tips. To this day, the community has been diligent in keeping their village clean, and many individuals have adopted the tips they learned to keep their families in good health.
While they begin to translate the New Testament, the Rabas project team continues to help the language community access the resources they need to improve their health and living conditions and teach people to read and write their own language.
An Open Door
Ayush and Teejak were excited to celebrate International Literacy Day, but when they contacted local villages to offer a one-day literacy program, everyone declined. One after another, they gave excuses. The people would not have time to attend because of other responsibilities. The weather was not conducive to hosting a program. Some even admitted they feared Christian teaching. Feeling deflated, Teejak and Ayush reached out to a village where they had previously conducted community checking. After some initial cold feet, the community leaders said yes to the literacy program. They even agreed to invite people from another Rabas village to join in.
The program went better than they imagined. “Usually, the attention of the people who attend the meeting will be on what they will get after the meeting (like what food and snacks in most cases), but here, their attention was on the posters that we prepared in their language,” explains Ayush. The community leaders were so impressed with the Rabas posters and program, they are now considering Ayush and Teejak’s offer to start literacy classes in their village.
“Sometimes children don’t come to class because they don’t understand the national language used in the classroom. So, we are preparing some educational materials in their heart language.”
Project Facilitator
bottom of page