17 Jun 2013

The Kwedam Bible translation team has disclosed that the translation of the Holy Scriptures into Kwedam, one of the Khoisan languages is expected to be finished by 2016.

The team revealed on June 14 that the translation project, which started in 2009, entailed the translation and production of some of the Old and New Testament verses, chapters and Biblical stories into audio and print materials to make it easier for the Kwedam people to understand.

The aim was to simplify the bibble and make it user friendly. Thee project has three partners, being the Bible Society of Botswana, Lutheran Bible translators and the entire Kwedam communities in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.

The team members were  Messrs Hepuru Moronga and Moses Johannes, both of the Kwedam ethnic group as translators and Mr Tim Beckendorf from the United States as the translation advisor. Mr Moronga said they were trained by the late Mr David Naude to translate the Bible into Kwedam, which he said was a difficult task.

He said they were translating it for Kwedam people to read and understand the Word of God and appreciate what he had done for them. “It is not easy for the people to understand the Word of God due to language barriers, more so that most of them do not believe in God,” he noted.

 He explained that most of the Kwedam people were illiterate, adding that a lot of communication and mobilisation had been done with the concerned communities. The community, he said, had shown a lot of support and interest because they were more involved in the drafting and translation of the Bible, particularly elderly people.

Mr Beckendorf stated that an estimated 6 000 people from the Kwedam people are expected to use the Bible both in Botswana and Namibia. Kwedam people would use the Bible during their events and various church gatherings.  ENDS