Please help completing a new Bible translation!
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The daring dream of a young refugee has almost come true:
The first complete Bible translation into his native language: Dinka!
Hear the fascinating story of Wöl Bol Wöl and become a part of it!
Wöl:
My name Wöl Bol Wöl. I am currently studying full-time in the PhD Religion program at Andrews University, and I am originally from South Sudan. Twenty years ago – while I was a refugee in Kakuma, Kenya – God placed a burden on my heart to translate the Bible. The reason being that there was no complete Bible in my language: Dinka.
After I resettled in the USA, I began translating the Bible into Dinka in 2004 at Oakwood University. After eight years of translating, all while studying, the first draft was completed in 2012. By then I was at Andrews University for my master’s degree. I have since been working on the second draft of the Dinka Bible.
I am now only sixteen biblical books away (out of sixty-six) from completing the last draft for publication. It will take me another six to eight months to complete the editing process, if I do not have to get other work to support myself.
The Dinka Bible will contain a dictionary in the back to assist readers in further understanding the text. Thank you in advancefor partnering with me in the process of producing this Bible for Dinka speakers. The Dinka Bible will be able to reach about 5 million people in South Sudan and about half a million Dinka speakers abroad. I will keep you posted on the progress!
Angelika:
About one-and-a-half years ago I felt curious and approached Wöl Bol Wöl on how his Bible translation was going and whether he was receiving any financial help for his work. He told me about his progress and shared that he does not get anything for his work. It took several more inquiries to find out, that he actually held an additional student job at the time—along with his studies AND along withthe translation project—in order to cover living costs. That couldn’t continue!
Through the help of Dr. John Reeve (PhD/ThD director of the SDA Theol. Seminary) we connected to a generous sponsor, who funded a student job for Wöl to translate the Dinka Bible. Since December 2019 this student job has provided the financial, structural, and accountability framework for Wöl to finish this mammoth project without having to focus on any other job for income. These donated funds have now run out.
I've accompanied Wöl's translation process for the last one-and-a-half years, having multiple conversations with him and updates from him, and his approach is indeed solid. Αs a linguist myself I can say that he is very thorough in his work, having translated from the original text but also consulting with translations in other languages. He has been in contact with the (north) Sudanese Bible Society, is consulting regularly with other Dinka native speakers to improvement of word choices. He has even coined several terms himself, just as Luther did in his German translation and the Committee of the King James Version did in their translation work. (Wöl is also a polyglot, speaking eight languages fluently, among them Mandarin and Arabic.)
We need the community to support Wöl in the last months of editing and proof-reading his Bible translation. Any donated amount helps and goes directly into funding the finishing of the Dinka Bible.
With your donation you are literally making a new Bible translation possible!
Thank you!
The first complete Bible translation into his native language: Dinka!
Hear the fascinating story of Wöl Bol Wöl and become a part of it!
Wöl:
My name Wöl Bol Wöl. I am currently studying full-time in the PhD Religion program at Andrews University, and I am originally from South Sudan. Twenty years ago – while I was a refugee in Kakuma, Kenya – God placed a burden on my heart to translate the Bible. The reason being that there was no complete Bible in my language: Dinka.
After I resettled in the USA, I began translating the Bible into Dinka in 2004 at Oakwood University. After eight years of translating, all while studying, the first draft was completed in 2012. By then I was at Andrews University for my master’s degree. I have since been working on the second draft of the Dinka Bible.
I am now only sixteen biblical books away (out of sixty-six) from completing the last draft for publication. It will take me another six to eight months to complete the editing process, if I do not have to get other work to support myself.
The Dinka Bible will contain a dictionary in the back to assist readers in further understanding the text. Thank you in advancefor partnering with me in the process of producing this Bible for Dinka speakers. The Dinka Bible will be able to reach about 5 million people in South Sudan and about half a million Dinka speakers abroad. I will keep you posted on the progress!
Angelika:
About one-and-a-half years ago I felt curious and approached Wöl Bol Wöl on how his Bible translation was going and whether he was receiving any financial help for his work. He told me about his progress and shared that he does not get anything for his work. It took several more inquiries to find out, that he actually held an additional student job at the time—along with his studies AND along withthe translation project—in order to cover living costs. That couldn’t continue!
Through the help of Dr. John Reeve (PhD/ThD director of the SDA Theol. Seminary) we connected to a generous sponsor, who funded a student job for Wöl to translate the Dinka Bible. Since December 2019 this student job has provided the financial, structural, and accountability framework for Wöl to finish this mammoth project without having to focus on any other job for income. These donated funds have now run out.
I've accompanied Wöl's translation process for the last one-and-a-half years, having multiple conversations with him and updates from him, and his approach is indeed solid. Αs a linguist myself I can say that he is very thorough in his work, having translated from the original text but also consulting with translations in other languages. He has been in contact with the (north) Sudanese Bible Society, is consulting regularly with other Dinka native speakers to improvement of word choices. He has even coined several terms himself, just as Luther did in his German translation and the Committee of the King James Version did in their translation work. (Wöl is also a polyglot, speaking eight languages fluently, among them Mandarin and Arabic.)
We need the community to support Wöl in the last months of editing and proof-reading his Bible translation. Any donated amount helps and goes directly into funding the finishing of the Dinka Bible.
With your donation you are literally making a new Bible translation possible!
Thank you!
Co-organizers (2)
Angelika Kaiser
Organizer
Berrien Springs, MI
Wol Bol Wol
Beneficiary
Wöl Bol
Co-organizer