Scripture Material Distribution in remote Central Australia
Project 8534
There are many Aboriginal Christians living in remote communities, who have a great thirst for the Word of God, but very limited resources. These communities can be vast distances apart and spread across much of central Australia. This project is raising funds to assist with the very significant costs involved in driving to remote communities to distribute Scripture materials, offer encouragement, and fellowship with Aboriginal Christians. We see this as a vitally important long term mission. The costs that would be supported (to whichever extent donations allow) would be: fuel, tyre replacement or repair and minor car repairs/service.
In the shorter term (from 2024), a dedicated Christian couple with a heart for supporting Indigenous Christians living remotely, plan to dedicate 6 – 8 months of the year to meeting this need. It is our hope that this will become an annual mission, even if the people carrying out the work change.
English Immersion Leaders
Project 8863
Will explain later.
Photo by Hunter Haley on Unsplash
Nungalinya Indigenous Translation Cert.
Project 8331
Nungalinya College, in Darwin, identified a growing need to provide training in basic Bible translation practices to the new generation of younger and less experienced translators. This resulted in the College developing and registering a new course – the Certificate II in Indigenous Translation, funded collaboratively by Wycliffe Australia, AuSIL, CMS, Bible Society, and Coordinate Uniting Church NT. This entry level training is vitally important for the continuation and renewal of translation work in Indigenous First Languages, particularly of the Northern Territory. It is intended that many of the students achieving the Certificate II in Indigenous Translation will be equipped and encouraged to go on to complete further translation courses and to work as Bible translators.
Wycliffe Australia has a long and close association with Nungalinya College. It is the premier training body in the Northern Territory for Indigenous Christians, offering courses in Bible translation, literacy/numeracy, ministry and theology, and applied fields of art, family wellbeing and media/music. Students not living in Darwin are accommodated at Nungalinya College, and have meals provided, so that they can leave their communities for 2 or 4 week blocks to undertake their studies.
You are invited to contribute to this wonderful project just below. However, if tax deductibility is required, this is available through the Nungalinya College website https://www.nungalinya.edu.au/donate/.
Partner with us
Budget target: AU$15,000 for 2023 and $15,000 for 2024
Excess funds will go towards the following year’s target.
Bible Translation Support Training
Project 8533
There are lots of Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory who want to be doing Bible translation, but without outside support and encouragement, translation work happening in remote communities often gets stuck at the draft stage and doesn’t make it through to publication.
This project will train non-linguists such as ministry workers who are already living and working in remote Indigenous communities to come alongside aspiring Aboriginal translators, to encourage them in their work and provide support.
Partner with us
Budget target: AU$13,889 by the mid 2024
Excess funds will go towards the following year’s target.
Yolngu Matha Cluster
Project 8538
Yolngu Matha is the collective name for a group of over 40 related languages spoken in North East Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. People often understand and speak multiple languages, but identify with the language of their family’s clan-nation. Two Yolngu languages have a New Testament, and some others have small portions, but many groups are keen to have more Scriptures available in their own language.
Funding from this project will be used to pay the wages of Aboriginal translators and cover other project expenses such as travel and accommodation to allow a translation advisor to spend time working with local translators across this remote region.
Partner with us
Budget target: AU$37,876 by mid 2024
Excess funds will go towards the following year’s target.
West Arnhem Cluster
Project 8537
There is a huge desire amongst Indigenous Christians in West Arnhem Land (Northern Territory) for Bible translation. Wycliffe currently has relationships with people from at least seven different language communities* in this region, helping them with the translation work they aspire to.
One of the big challenges at the moment is funding, particularly for travel between Darwin and remote communities in West Arnhem. Funds raised for this project will allow the local volunteer translators to travel to Darwin to spend dedicated time on translation work away from family distractions, and to receive training in translation methods, project management and other necessary skills. It will also enable a trained linguist and a translation consultant to travel regularly to work with language communities and help them progress.
*Current languages include Kuninjku, Ndjebbana, Rembarrnga, Nakara, Burarra, Mawng and Jabiru-Mayali.
Partner with us
Budget target: AU$24,150 by mid 2024
Excess funds will go towards the following year’s target.
Indigenous Scripture Bookshop Workers
Project 8536
Wycliffe’s partner organisation in the Northern Territory, AuSIL, works to provide biblical resources to speakers of Indigenous Australian languages. They have an office and bookshop in Darwin full of Scripture, music and other Christian resources.
This project allows AuSIL to employ Indigenous Australians to work in the Darwin bookshop to help with resource production and distribution, as well as Bible translation and other administrative needs. It is also an opportunity to provide relevant and meaningful employment opportunities.
Partner with us
Budget target: AU$16,716 by the mid 2024
Excess funds will go towards the following year’s target.
Anmatyerr Ethnoarts Scripture Engagement
Project 8338
Local artists creating using their own artistic forms is a powerful way for indigenous people to connect with Scripture in a culturally meaningful and relevant way, through artistic pursuits such as painting, music, drama and dance.
God has given our Australian Aboriginal friends incredible artistic talents, especially in music and painting. While having the Bible translated into their heart language helps them to understand God’s Word, culturally meaningful artistic expressions are another way of sharing God’s Word and their faith in him. Paintings are a natural way for Aboriginal people to interact with each other, and to share their stories. When artists sit down together painting, they talk about the Bible story and it draws them to God. Additionally, the paintings may be used to tell the Bible story to different generations so that kids, young people, and older people may all understand God’s Word, even if they can’t read it.
The funds raised will be used to cover painting materials, transportation and food costs for events and workshops where local artists create paintings of Scripture in forms they know best.
Anmatyerr Translation & Scripture Engagement
Project 8335
The Anmatyerr people, who live north of Alice Springs, are looking forward to receiving extensive portions of Scripture in their language. This book containing 52% of the New Testament has been typeset and sent for publication. The next stage will be completing Genesis and portions of Matthew (more than 50%) within the next few years to produce an expanded version so that all the Gospel lectionary readings can be made available. (If not in Matthew, another similar passage can be read in one of the other synoptic Gospels.)
Making an audio recording of Luke is also planned. In this way, more Scriptures would become accessible online in both audio and written format, or on USB. Scripture Engagement may also include the production of music, such as Song Writing workshops and the recording of songs.
Funds are required for wages for Anmatyerr translators, and for readers who do recording, for their transport and accommodation expenses while staying in town.
Kriol OT Recording
Project 8636
So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. – Rom 10:17 (NLT)
Kriol is an Australian Indigenous language which developed through contact between indigenous groups and European settlers. It was first recognised as a language in the 1970’s and is spoken by approximately 30,000 people through parts of northern Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland.
The ‘Holi Baibul’ is a full translation of the Bible into the Kriol language. It was first dedicated in 2007, with a revised version in May 2019. Today, it remains the ONLY complete Bible published in an Australian Indigenous language.
Australian Indigenous cultures communicate predominantly via oral storytelling. Some people are unable to engage with a print Bible due to poor eye health or low literacy levels so having Scripture available in audio format is essential.
Hearing IS believing! Wycliffe Bible Translators Australia, the Australian Society for Indigenous Languages (AuSIL) and the Bible Society Australia are pleased to partner with Indigenous language groups to record the whole of the ‘Holi Baibul’ in audio format. So far, 18 of the 39 Old Testament Kriol books have been recorded, with 21 to go. Would you contribute to funding future Kriol recording workshops to enable the completion of this massive, but valuable project?
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