http://www.wycliffeassociates.org/news/pressdetail.asp?id=588
Wycliffe Associates Providing Remote Collaboration Tools for Bible Translators in Areas that Lack Reliable Electricity or Internet Access
(Orlando, Florida, USA)—Wycliffe Associates, a global organization that involves people in the acceleration of Bible translation around the world, is working proactively to help national Bible translators in remote and dangerous locations by providing them with state-of-the-art equipment that allows real-time collaboration with translation consultants. Translators who live and work in areas without reliable electricity or even Internet access are able to communicate via satellite connection with translation consultants hundreds or even thousands of miles away.
The combination of equipment, called Bible Translation Acceleration Kits, or BTAKs, includes a small, portable netbook computer, satellite communication terminal, solar panel, battery, and power supply. So far, teams from Wycliffe Associates have distributed nearly 200 BTAKs and provided training for their use in countries such as Brazil, Cameroon, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, and Tanzania. The organization hopes to distribute at least 250 more kits in the near future.
“Not only does this high-tech tool make it safer for translators to carry on God’s work,” said Wycliffe Associates president and CEO Bruce Smith, “but it speeds up translation efforts by years.”
Wycliffe Associates estimates that the use of a BTAK for a Bible translation project can reduce a project’s completion date by as many as three years.
In Africa, there are currently 87 Bible translation teams using the kits. Kenyan-born Terri Collins, who helped install some of the kits, says that Bible translation is the only hope to spread the love and compassion of Christ for the men, women, and children in Kenya, who have been driven from their homes during violent clashes and raids in recent years.
“When we took Bible Translation Acceleration Kits to Kenya, [the translators] were so excited to continue the work of Bible translation,” Collins said. “When God’s Word is in their own language, the light comes on.” A complete kit costs $3,967. Generous friends of Wycliffe Associates have put together matching challenge fund that will double every dollar given toward the kits, up to $50,000.
About Wycliffe Associates
Wycliffe Associates involves people in accelerating the work of Bible translation through their time, talents, and treasure. Because millions of people around the world are still waiting to read the Scriptures in the language of their heart, Wycliffe Associates is working as quickly as they can to translate every verse of the Bible into every tongue to change every heart. The organization partners with nationals, mother tongue translators, staff, volunteers, and supporters to direct and fund these efforts, as well as provide logistics, networking, and technical support. Through a growing global network, Wycliffe Associates is striving to overcome local limitations of time and resources to achieve the goal of beginning the translation of God’s Word in every remaining language that needs it by 2025.
Last year, the organization mobilized 3,145 volunteers and staff members to accelerate Bible translation in 71 countries. Additional information is available at the organization’s website at www.wycliffeassociates.org or by calling 1-800-THE WORD (1-800-843-9673).
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