Waalii Bible Revision

• Location: Ghana
• Bible Completion Target Date: 2028

The Waala people live in the Upper West region of Ghana. Out of 85,000 Waalii speakers, only 3% of the people profess Christianity, 1.5% of those claiming to be evangelical.

In 1945, war conditions in French Equatorial Africa changed the plans of Baptist Mid-Missions missionary Gust Pearson, and he traveled to Accra, Ghana, instead. Not long after, other missionaries joined him, and they began ministering together in Christiansborg and later began another ministry among the Waala people in Wa, the capital of the Upper Volta region.

These missionaries began translating the New Testament into the Waalii language. When it was completed in 1984, it was the only printed material to exist in this language. Although the translation work began before the formation of Bibles International in 1981, BI soon became involved and printed the finished New Testament. As missionaries began to freely distribute the New Testament in public schools, they were surprised by the Muslim teachers’ eagerness to accept and use the Waalii Scriptures as reading and writing textbooks for their students.

Recognizing that low literacy among the Waala was the main obstacle preventing them from engaging with their New Testament, the missionaries began teaching literacy classes. Many of the young men who attended these reading classes became vital literacy teachers and faithful church leaders. As they brought literacy classes to neighboring villages, these new literacy teachers became evangelists and helped plant churches in these villages. One missionary wrote, “Through our Baptist Mid-Missions’ literacy program we have reached 34 villages. Literacy classes were held during the dry season of 1993 in 24 villages. Approximately 460 students attended. We are awed by the tremendous growth in the literacy program. We have distributed 4,000 New Testaments….These books may get dirty and worn, but they will not collect dust from lack of use.”

BI adopted the Old Testament translation project in 1994. Hamidu Insah, who has suffered with paraplegia since his teens, became the main translator. The translation team finished the Old Testament translation in 2009 and participated in a three-hour dedication service for the complete Waalii Bible in May 2010. The Waalii also enjoy hearing and seeing Scripture through an audio New Testament and Gospel of Mark video from Faith Comes By Hearing.

After the government mandated changes in the orthography, church leaders requested that BI publish a revised Waalii Bible to reflect the new changes. BI adopted the Waalii Bible revision project in 2021, with Hamidu Insah serving as the primary revisionist.

Download this Scripture to your Android device:

Download this Scripture to your iOS device:

Read or listen to this Scripture online:

Bible.is, a ministry of Faith Comes By Hearing