Neziswa Kanju recently attended a media breakfast in Pretoria hosted by MegaVoice International Africa, a Christian non-profit organisation which takes the Word of God to illiterate, unreached people across Africa via innovative audio and video formats.
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tiding, who proclaim salvation who say to Zion, Your God reigns” (Isaiah 52:7)
The MegaVoice International Africa office in Pretoria, led by Johan Grobler, is part of a global organisation that supplies solar-powered audio Bibles and rugged video players to the unreached. The MegaVoice journey goes back to 1987, when Tom Treseder, then director of the Bible Society of New South Wales in Australia, realised that many people could not be reached with printed Bibles because they did not read. After hearing a “voice come from a car”, an idea for an audio Bible was planted. And so began the quest to design a multipurpose Bible suitable for the illiterate, the blind and the visually impaired. As the ministry grew, videos accompanied with sign language were introduced to cater to the deaf community.
Today MegaVoice has distributed millions of Bible audio units worldwide, with complete Bibles available in hundreds of languages. They have the Bible in 700 languages, and 12 English translations including the King James Bible, the New King James, New Living Translation and the Good News Bible. For the SADC region they have multiple Bible translations including two in Shona and two in Chichewa.
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Apart from the Bible translations in various languages, the MegaVoice Library has children’s story books, discipleship material, humanitarian messages on Covid. Ebola, the weather and other resource material pertaining to rural life in Africa.
Grobler said: “To date we have distributed about 3.5 million units. It seems like a lot but it’s not. Currently we distribute about 30 000 to 40 000 Bibles a month”
MegaVoice has significant partners who offer valuable expert skills in carrying out the great work of supplying audio solar bibles to the unreached and to the illiterate people in Africa, he said. These include Wycliffe South Africa, who translate Bibles into different languages.
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At the breakfast event Johan shared heart-warming stories about watching different tribespeople enjoying listening to God’s Word in their own languages. He said those moments were always precious to witness.
Reaching the Rendille
One of their outreaches has been to the Rendille tribe in northern Kenya, where MegaVoice works with Carel and Rentia Nel a missionary couple from Cape Town who have a calling to reach this unique Kenyan nomadic-pastoralist tribe.
The Rendille people had little exposure to Christianity before the late 20th century. Missionaries realised that translating Scripture into their mother tongue was essential for evangelism and community development. In 1981 local Rendille translators and missionaries began the Rendille Bible translation project. After nearly four decades of work, the New Testament translation was completed and dedicated in August 2018. Today, organisations like Seed Company, Bible Translation & Literacy (BTL) Kenya, Wycliffe, and Africa Inland Mission continue to support the ongoing translation of the Old Testament.
South African missionary and Bible translator Nick Swanepoel, working alongside his wife, Lynne, was sent by Wyclifffe South Africa and the Africa Inland Mission to start the Rendille translation. Laban Eyesinkele, a local translator with a lifelong calling to bring Scripture to his people, was one of the first Rendille translators. Joshua Galimogle, another early Rendille translator, worked alongside Laban. Various missionaries and literacy workers have helped establish reading programmes in Rendille.
Missionaries Carel and Rentia Nel shared how their work with the Rendille people began after they felt called by God four years ago to travel to Kenya to help with training and discipleship. While training young people there they noticed five youths who were different to the other people. They found out they were Rendilles.
Carel said their mission to work with the Rendilles was birthed after he was taken to their region. The Nels have travelled to the Rendille people three times. Last year they brought them 220 MegaVoice Audio New Testaments and this year they took 180 audio units with the New Testament and 10 Old Testament books, Their round trip from Cape Town was about 16 000km, said Carel.
Speaking of life with the nomadic Rendilles, he said that the tribespeople use camels for transport and they are also their symbol of riches. He said the Rendilles call his vehicle the “White Camel”.
He said that his and Rentia’s missionary work includes partnering with Wycliffe and local translators in Kenya, and distributing MegaVoice material to the Rendilles. He said influential Rendille leaders help choose recipients for audio Bibles. He said a normal Bible costs about R220 and a MegaVoice audio Bible costs R550. Considering the work that goes into creating an audio Bible with all of its unique features, and the fact that one solar audio Bible can serve a family of 10, their cost is reasonable, he said.
For more information on the Rendille mission contact Carel Nel on +27 73 355 2323 or cimcreatorinme@gmail.com
If you would like to support the massive undertaking of providing solar audio Bibles to the illiterate, blind and deaf across Africa, please make use of the following banking details : Account Name: MegaVoice International Africa NPC; Bank: ABSA; Branch: Worcester; Account: 40-9894-9446; Branch Code: 632005; Reference: Project name and your name.
You can find out more about MegaVoice Africa on their website at www.megavoiceafrica.co.za
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