Uppu Chin New Testament & Literacy

• Location: Myanmar
• New Testament Completion Target Date: 2033

The Uppu Chin of Myanmar (formerly known as the Chin Pong and Chinbon Chin) number approximately 44,000 people. An estimated 10% of the population professes Christianity, with 8% claiming to be evangelical.

The Revival Baptist Churches of Myanmar reached out to Bibles International in 2004, after being contacted by Uppu Chin believers and discovering that these people desired the Bible in their language, even though they did not possess a written language. BI adopted the Uppu Chin Literacy project that same year and produced a primer, which the government accepted and began to implement in the lower schools. The Uppu Chin literacy director was instrumental in accomplishing this literacy advancement and held classes to instruct teachers in teaching the newly-written language. Since literacy development heavily depends on the availability of literature in the language, BI published a revised primer and the first Old Testament Storybook in 2017. The second Old Testament Storybook will be completed soon.

Bibles International adopted the Uppu Chin New Testament translation project in late 2016, and resident BI consultants began working alongside Uppu Chin translators. Although the work faced a restart in 2021 after a significant change in Uppu team members, a trial edition of Luke and James was published in 2024.