You would think that the name Wycliffe Ethiopia would belong
to an old, venerable institution that had been involved in Bible translation
for decades. That’s why I was surprised to discover it’s only been around a
couple of years.
Bible translation in Ethiopia has been happening for a long
time, however, but it’s been under the ministry of SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistics)
and handled primarily by a large contingent of expat staff. Then, five years ago, the Ethiopian government
demanded that all non-profit organizations had to register either for
development work or religious work, but not the two together. SIL, for various
reasons, choose the development identity. The government immediately frowned on
their continued work on Bible translations.
That’s why a group of Ethiopian Bible translators and staff
opted to leave SIL and form a new national entity properly registered to
continue the Bible translation work. Enter Wycliffe Ethiopia (WE.)
This past week, I've had the privilege to spend two days
with the sixteen staff members of WE. With their legal situation in hand, they
now are needing to press ahead with such things as a strategic plan, HR polices
and guidelines for a board of directors. I've been asked to help them do just
that.
It’s always so refreshing to meet more of the new generation
of African leaders giving birth to and developing new ministries across this
continent. WE is a great example. Led by a young man named Tefera, I sense both
passion and vision for getting God’s Word to the remaining Ethiopian languages
that want it. And he’s not afraid to try
some of the newest translation techniques that is revolutionizing how quickly
the work can get done.
I look forward to see how this first introduction to WE will
develop into some more organizational development workshops together later this
year and beyond.
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