Entity Projects & Vancancies  

UGANDA-TANZANIA BRANCH is a new entity.  It was established in 2001: 

Tanzania- We have one Language Assessment Team and 13 Bible Translation & Literacy Teams in Tanzania.

Burunge

The Burunge people are a small group of approximately 13,000 people who live in close proximity to other languages such as the Rangi, Gogo and Sandawe. The Burunge belong to a small cluster of ethnic groups in Tanzania known as the Southern Cushites. The people are proud of their language and are excited about the prospect of being able to read it and having the Scriptures. Some are already learning to read Burunge and there are already some literacy materials and Scriptures pending publication. Although the work is time-consuming and challenging, the team is thrilled about the progress they are making.

Visit the following pages for more information:

The Burunge People

Location within country: Kondoa District of Dodoma Region, southeast of the Langi, Goima, Chambalo, and Mirambu villages.

Geography and Climate: Arid, deciduous bush (scrub forest)

Altitude: 1200-1800m

Population: 15,000

Cultural Information: Subsistence farmers

Diet: Millet, maize, sorghum, beans, sweet potatoes.

Economic Status: $150 per year in a year with good harvest.

Alternate language names: Bulunge, Mbulugwe, Burungi

Language Group Information: Burunge people are proud of their language, because they are able to read and write it now.

Religion: Traditional religion, Muslim, Christian

History: The Burunge belong to a small cluster of ethnic groups in Tanzania known as the Southern Cushites. Their ancestors are believed to originate from the Ethiopean plateau. A first trace of this occupation dates from the Upper Paleolithic period. At some time before 1000BC new waves of Caucasoid people began to fan out from southern Ethiopia bringing with them a full Neolithic culture with agriculture and domestic animals. The difference betweeen the languages of the Southern Cushites in Tanzania and the Cushites of Southern Ethiopia suggest a long period of isolation and linguistic differentiation. (Murdock pp 193-196)

Burunge Language Project

Playing on a calabash.(Burunge, Tanzania)

Translation Work

Before translation work can begin sound linguistic work must be completed. The following have been done so far:

• Orthography approved.
• Writer's guide.
• Discourse analysis has begun.
• Jonah (awaiting publication)
• Abraham story (awaiting publication)
• The Gospel of Mark (awaiting publication)
• Ruth

With God's grace the linguistic work is done and translation work has started! Ruth is the first Biblical book in Burunge and we are very pleased with the good work John, Emmanuel and Michael did. "Ruth" was dedicated in Nov 2005.

The dedication of the Abraham story will be in August '06.

The Translation Team

The Wycliffe linguists involved in the project are Michael and Sybille E.

We praise God for our two Burunge-translators, Pastor John K and Emmanuel D, who started working with the project in October 2004.

Michael & Sibylle E.

Pastor John K

Pastor Emmanuel D.

Literacy

The Wycliffe literacy specialist is Anna B, who joined the project in March 2006. She is working with Samson B a Burunge who has been doing literacy work for the past few years. The people are really excited for their Bible translation. They are asking to have the existing transition literacy classes and help with Scripture Use in all of the churches.

Right now the literacy team is doing 'Transitional Literacy' which is teaching people who know how to read Swahili to read Burunge.

Literacy Production

• Short stories Burunge people have written at writer's workshops
• Primer

Pray

Ladies singing and clapping at the book of Ruth dedication. (Burunge, Tanzania) The Burunge team need your prayers as they continue with translation and literacy work.

Pray

• For the literacy team: Samson and Anna to work well together. Pray for strength, ingenuity, creativity, energy and good health as they have an overwhelming task of doing transitional literacy and help with Scripture Use in the churches.
• For the team: Michael and Sibylle, Emmanuel D and Pastor John K to be unified in their efforts and make good progress in their work.
• For more Burunge to be found who can help with transitional literacy and Scripture Use.

Ideas in praying for these requests:

• Pray on your own
• Pray as a family
• Pray in your small group
• Pray as a church

Apr 4, 2006 Catching the Vision When Pastor Emmanuel D. was first asked to work as a translator he couldn’t understand why there was a need for the Bible in his language. People had Swahili Bibles! Some time later he was doing some preaching, giving sermons in the Burunge language. After some weeks he reverted back to Swahili. The people came to him and questioned him, “Why did you preach to us in our mother tongue if you were going to go back and switch to Swahili in words we can’t always understand? It was better when we were heard you speak in our mother tongue.”   Written by Anna B.

Jan 16, 2006 The First Book in Burunge! The large crowd of people was completely silent while Pastor Emmanuel read to them for the first time from the Book of Ruth in Burunge. After the reading, Pastor Emmanuel preached enthusiastically. Although I don’t know the Burunge language myself, I dare say that it was obvious that he knew his text! Emmanuel’s colleague, Pastor John, later pointed out to me that there were many "amens" coming from the old people in the audience. “You will never hear the old people say ‘amen’ if you preach in Swahili," he said. This was the main event at an historic open-air meeting held in November 2005 among the Burunge people, who live about 2 ½ hours north of Dodoma in Tanzania. They were celebrating the publishing of the first portion of the Bible –the book of Ruth– in the Burunge language. Burunge is a Cushitic language and therefore very different from Swahili and the other Bantu languages. Have you ever sung a tune to a waterbuck horn? (Burunge, Tanzania) I went to the Burunge village of Goima to participate in the festivities together with several hundred Burunge people. There I learned that it is possible to praise God in any language and with any instrument! The most prominent musical instrument of the day consisted of some wooden spoons and a wooden tray turned upside down. The creaking sound that was caused by the friction between the spoon and the tray was accompanied by the sound made by some old women drumming on their calabashes with sticks, while a young man every now and then sounded a waterbuck horn. The youth choir had a more modern approach, though, and kept the rhythm by drumming on an upsidedown plastic bucket. Add to this about ten stamping feet with ankle bells on them. Can you hear what it sounds like? Beautiful! When the old men started to dance a traditional stamping dance, two of our most respectable linguists were pulled into the performance. Some young girls sitting next to me started to giggle. “They can’t dance. They don’t know how to do it...” Well, it certainly looks easier than it is. Pastor Emmanuel reading from the book of Ruth (Burunge, Tanzania) It was fascinating to hear the two Burunge Bible translators (Pastor Emmanuel and Pastor John) tell how the book of Ruth speaks to the lives of the Burunge people. Their own traditions are very close to the customs that are described in this short Old Testament book. “Ruth and Naomi left Bethlehem because of a famine. Our people know exactly what that means, as we ourselves left our homeland around Babati for the same reason," they explained. In the book of Ruth it is explained how, in those times, people would take their shoe off and give it to the other as a sign of change of ownership. I was told that that is exactly what the Burunge people still do when property changes ownership through inheritance. When the Burunge people hear how Ruth’s first child is being taken care of by his grandmother, they will nod in agreement. “It is also part of the Burunge culture that the firstborn is raised by the grandmother." It is the team's vision that the Burunge people will not only continue to learn of God's care for them through the book of Ruth, but that they eventually have all of His words in their own language. Written by Anna L

Rangi

Chapatis are standard fare in Tanzania. (Rangi, Tanzania)

There are four dialects of the Rangi language. Earlier this year a survey was taken in many Rangi villages to determine which dialect the translation of the Bible should be done in. The Rangi people are close neighbors with the Burunge, Sandawe, Gogo and Masai. Some villages have all five language groups in them.

Visit the following pages for more information:

The Rangi People

Location within country: The Rangi live in six divisions of the Kondoa District, viz Kondoa, Pahi, Mondo, Goima, Kolo and Bereko, in Northern-Central Tanzania.

Geography and Climate: Bush savannah and highland forests, moderate semi-arid. Between January and May any village which does not lie on the Great North Road (excluding Kondoa, Mnenia and Pahi) might be inaccessible because of the rainy season. The Rangi live in an arid climate in central Tanzania bordered by the following: 

• Chenene Hills (S) which are at the border between Kondoa and Dodoma districts.
• Forest reserve (SW) which is a government forest infested with the tsetse fly.
• Bubu River Valley (W)
• Bereko Escarpment (NW)
• Tarangire National Park (NE)
• Maasai Steppe (E)
• Burunge Hills (SE)

Altitude: 1200-2000m ASL

Geographic Co-ordinates: Approx 5°S and 36°E

Populaton: 350,000.The majority of the Rangi population live in villages. People perceive their membership in communities by villages. These are not necessarily political villages but can be traditional villages.

Cultural Information: The Rangi are mainly farmers and grow cash crops such as: sunflower seeds, millet, beans, lentils, peas, and onions.

Good price today! What do you need? (Rangi, Tanzania)

Other goods are furniture, wooden crockery and cutlery, ropes and other useful household items and embroidered caps. They also have farm animals: predominantly cattle, goats and chickens. Many Rangi are also vendors in the marketplaces.

Diet: Food crops are millet, maize, legumes, potatoes, cassava, sugar cane, and various nuts and fruits. (The latter is found in the highlands only.)

Economic Status: Only about 2% of the population hold salaried (government) positions. The majority of all other income comes from small businesses (shops) and transportation of cargo. Estimated annual income per working person is $375USD. Cash crops also give some income but this is notoriously unreliable due to their dependance on rain.

The following are considered wealth:

• Stored grain- either from own field or acquired with money from other activities. It is stored in special containers made of wood and hidden. It’s eaten in times of need or festivities or it might be sold again.
• Cattle-either through animal husbandry or bought at auctions.

Alternate language names: Kirangi, Kilangi

Language Group Information: The Rangi language is categorized as Bantu F.33 within the Bantu subgroup of the Niger-Congo language family. Swahili is the language of education but most Rangi cannot fully understand it.

Religion: 93% Muslim. (There is a mosque in every village with eight in Kondoa Town.) The remaining 7% are primarily Roman Catholic. Traditional religious beliefs have often been incorporated into the majority religion. Reports of witchcraft among the Rangi are common.

Rangi Language Project

Gervas Simon was privaleged to teach these first-time literacy participants. (Rangi, Tanzania)Writing System

In October of 1998, Rangi mother tongue speakers had agreed on a writing system. However, this system had hardly been used due to various problems. A first primer (of October 1999) and three parables from the Gospel of Luke (of July 2000) had been published using this writing system, and even though people could read those, writing their language proved too difficult. Realizing this, two Wycliffe members of the Rangi team, Oliver S and Marg H have begun work to revise, and where possible, simplify, the Rangi writing system. 

Translation

In August 2005 a completed translation workshop resulted in three participants being employed in the project:

• Paulo M (the best student of all 40 workshop participants) is now a full-time translator.
• Andrew M is the new Rangi Literacy Coordinator in training.
• Gervas Simon V is the new Rangi Public Relations Officer in training.

The Rangi team of Paulo M and Richard C (a Wycliffe missionary) in Kondoa is progressing steadily in translating for the Rangi people.

2006 TimeTable

• January: A final check of the book of Jonah was done. This is the first Biblical book ever published in the Rangi language.
• March: Checking of several chapters of the Gospel of Mark. The story of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection (Mark 14-16), was checked and several trial versions were given to local churches in time for Easter.
• December: Translation will continue with the goal of having the Gospel of Mark completed by the end of 2006.

Adelina Bira is enjoying her new computer at the Rangi Language Institute. (Tanzania)Literacy

The literacy program is gaining ground! There is now a primer which is used in seminars to teach Rangi to read and write in their own language called Kirangi. There was a limited edition of the first primer in 1998 used to test the writing system. Rangi literacy classes (led by Rangi) have started in Kondoa town and the first villages outside of Kondoa town.

Another book on traditional Rangi tools was completed in March 2006.

Linguistics

Nearing completion:

• Rangi spelling guide.
• Rangi grammar. This will be the first Rangi grammar ever produced.
• 10,000+ word dictionary is in process. This will be the first dictionary ever published in Kirangi!

The Word In Song

Two Rangi choirs have been trained and are now performing Psalm 23 and a Rangi alphabet song in churches. When they began to sing, the reaction was amazing! The drumbeat changed, people started dancing spontaneously, and many said they hadn’t felt God come so close to them for a long time.

History of the Rangi

A Rangi house is called a tembe. (Tanzania)Rangi Origins

The Rangi probably formed as a distinct language group some time between 1000 and 1500 AD when Bantu language speakers from the West (more specifically, the Southern shore of Lake Victoria) infiltrated the Kondoa highlands, then sparsely populated by Cushites. The Haubi valley is regarded as the cradle of the Rangi from where every Rangi's descendants originated. In reality, many who call themselves Rangi today (and are Rangi linguistically and culturally) have Cushitic ancestors.

Early History

The Kondoa highlands were a cultural backwater until ivory traders arrived between 1850 and 1880 and founded trading posts at Kondoa and Busi/Sambwa. The first mosque was built (in Kondoa) in 1885, and the first Catholic church (also in Kondoa) in 1910. Rangi were then living predominantly in the four valleys of Kondoa, Haubi, Mondo and Kolo plus the Busi/Sambwa settlements below the escarpment. They were not centrally organized but each area had its own subchief.

After World War I, a sultan was set over all the Rangi, Sultan Salimu Kimolo whose palace was at Kolo (his dynasty was abolished soon after Tanzanian independence in 1961).

Recent History

After World War II, the bushland plains below the escarpment, up to then infested with tsetse-fly, were cleared and many Rangi moved into the Northern plains between Pahi and Kisese, the Eastern plains up to Jangalo, and the Southeastern plains from Soya to Zajilo on the border with Dodoma District. Today, there are also sizeable Rangi communities in Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Babati and Arusha.

Dec 13, 2005 Why the Fuss? What's the big deal about using the mother-tongue anyway? Don't Tanzanians all know the national language of Swahili?   Why can't Tanzanians experience closeness to God in the national language Swahili? After all, everyone should have learned it in school and be using it in everyday life. Perhaps the proficiency of Swahili has been overestimated. Recently, our church here in Kondoa visited Choka, a Rangi village about 12 miles North. We attended a service of the handful of local Christians, and one of us was asked to lead the joint prayer, so he started by saying in Swahili ‘Fumbeni macho’, (“Let’s close our eyes”). The villagers seemed confused. Only when someone translated into Rangi ‘Chuumbi miiso’, did they understand. Consequently, the preacher interspersed his Swahili sermon with a lot of Rangi explanations. This experience was a real eye opener especially for the urban Tanzanian Christians who had expected Swahili to be much more widespread in the countryside. And there are 150 Rangi villages around Kondoa Town. Written by Oliver

Nov 29, 2005 Telling Stories In traditionally oral cultures, telling stories is foundational in passing along history or important lessons from one generation to another. Now the Rangi can learn about God's love for them in a way that is dear to their hearts.    Five Rangi speakers have now attended a workshop in which people learn to craft stories to tell others. Storytelling is an art which not all are able to do well. In this week-long workshop, the attendees learned stories from the Bible by memory in order to transmit this information orally to other people. They learned about 12 stories in all. This story set they have learned begins before the creation of the world to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Tanzania, this is how most information is transmitted to other people. Most people do not read and don’t have a television to watch. But their culture is rich in using stories to pass down importatant information, genealogies, cultural history and practices. We realize that not everyone will be able to learn to read and write, but everyone likes a good story!

Here is some information on literacy needs with the Burunge & Rangi projects in Dodoma. Currently we have Wycliffe missionaries assigned as literacy workers for Fiscal Year 2006-7 to push forward with literacy activities by employing national workers, training them and then producing literacy materials. In light of the funding reductions this year we are looking to raise additional funds to top up the reduced amounts to be sure that we can move forward with these activities. Here are some identifiable expenses:

Salaries

·    US$3,400 is budgeted for five employees between both projects in Literacy and Scripture Use

 Equipment

·    Burunge Project - US$100 for a bicycle to travel from village to village

       Travel

·    $US$1,500 is needed for national employee’s bus fares and room and board.

       Publications

·    US$4,800 is budgeted to print Shellbooks, Storybooks and various other literacy publications

 Workshops

·    US$4,650 is budgeted to hold Literacy Workshops throughout the year. Some of these workshops are held jointly with these two projects.

 Let Daniel Lai know if you have questions or need more specific amounts listed out.

 Zinza People of Tanzania

please note that the statistics quoted below are many times a best guess

1. Have they heard the gospel?

Ratio of pastors/evangelists to population:

·         1 pastor or evangelist for every 10,000 persons

Ratio of missionaries to population:

·         1 missionary for every 14,000 persons

Who is Jesus Christ to them?

·         responses are varied: the Son of God; a prophet; teacher; a good man, but not God's Son

·         many have never heard His name

2. How have they responded to the gospel?

Ratio of Believers to Population: 1 : 200

_______________________________________________________________________________________

3. Do they have a church?

Today, with the heterogeneous situation in which many Zinza live, there are several churches with Zinza members. These churches use Swahili, the national language of Tanzania, and Sukuma, a large neighboring language.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

4. Do they have the word of God translated into their mother tongue?

Scripture portions were translated into Echizinza, but some of these portions were done as early as 1930 using an alphabet which has been very difficult to read.  SIL started work among the Zinza in 1990.  Significant language research has been completed and a revised alphabet is now in use.   The “Way of Salvation” tract is completed and being distributed.  The book of Genesis is currently being translated.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

5. What other forms of gospel presentations are available?

Recordings: No                                   Literature: Yes                        Video/Films: No                                   Radio: No

There are churches and evangelists working in the area where Zinza are found. The “Way of Salvation” tract is the first scripture publication using the revised alphabet. There is also an African Inland Mission songbook and a Catholic Missal in Echizinza using the old alphabet. There is also a pre-1960 audio tape of a Gospel message.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

6. Is outside (cross-cultural) assistance required from missionaries?

Yes, in literature development, Bible translation, literacy, and health care.

SOMEDAY THEY WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED

Pastor Kamuhanda had an important announcement to make and I had positioned myself, camera in hand, so that I could record the expressions on the faces of the children.  It was the final day of a week-long Bible camp held in Butundwe, Tanzania - home to hundreds of Zinza-speaking Tanzanians - fifty of whom were about to receive a surprise!

The children were well-informed about who had sponsored this first-of-its-kind event.  They had all been told that the people who were working on translating the Bible into their language, the Zinza language, were coming to their village to teach them about God.  Because they knew who we were and knew the job we were working on none of us should have been surprised that when Pastor Kamuhanda announced that each child present would receive their own, individual Bible - cheers would erupt - but for the wrong reason.

The children thought the job was done.  They thought that they were each receiving a copy of the Bible - translated into the Zinza language.

And why shouldn't they?  The Bible has been in the English language for more than 400 years, it's been translated into languages such as Russian and Mandarin Chinese for nearly 200 years, why shouldn't the Bible be written in the Zinza language by now?

And so it was a bittersweet moment as Pastor Kamuhanda went on to explain that the Bible which they would be receiving was written in the Swahili language and, my heart wished he hadn't added these next words, that it was not in the modern Swahili but in the more old-fashioned Swahili which, if they "studied hard", could be a blessing to them. 

Ugh.  My heart just sunk and I thought to myself, "Someday, kids.  Someday you won’t be disappointed."

THE ZINZA

Over 138,000 Zinza-speakers make their home in the islands and shorelines of the SW corner of Lake Victoria in Tanzania.  Famous for being the second largest fresh water lake in the world, Lake Victoria is also the source of the famous Nile River.  These facts are impressive, sometimes causing us to overlook the fact that it’s people are in great spiritual and physical danger.   Spiritually, the island peoples are predominately animistic and physically, researchers have said that “the islands and shorelines of Lake Victoria have the highest concentration of AIDs in Africa”.  

We are passionate about reaching these people for the Lord, and yet, translating God’s LIFE-SAVING message into the language of the islands is a task unfinished. This means that the people inhabiting the following list of 53 islands have yet to hear God’s word in the language they know best:

Bumbire, Nyaburo, Kinagi, Makibwa, Kerebe, Iroba, Goziba, Mahaiga, Ilamba, Lubiri, Buyonze, Khanzu, Rueneke, Galinzila, Kino, Mujunwa, Chemuze, Magege, Ikuza, Lukando, Chakazimbwe, Musalala, Maisome, Kisaba, Kanoni, Lubaragazi kubwa, Lubaragazi ndogo, Butwa, Lulegeya, Izumacheli, Mchangani, Miganiko, Ghona, Magafi, Rubondo, Nyamumina, Chembaya, Nyamango, Giembale, Kasalazi, Yozu, Ziragula, Kome, Nfurubizi, Ikulu, Ito, Juma, Chemagati, Chitandele, Nyahihi, Lyakanyasi, Biswa, Bihira

18 MONTH GOALS  

The upcoming 18 months will be exciting - though busy - ones for the Zinza Translation Project because we have set before us a significant goal – to see the book of Genesis published into the Zinza language. 

The dedication of this book (tentatively scheduled to be held in May of 2007) will be an exciting one due to the fact that this will be the first book of the Bible to be translated into the Zinza language.  To make the launching of Genesis an even greater success, we are working to have the following materials (also translated into the Zinza language for the first time) available at the same time:

·         Portions of Genesis set to music (in both the Zinza language and style) and available in tape cassettes.

·         A book about the Culture and Ways of the Zinza people (this book not only works to preserve their culture but encourages literacy as well)

·         A Zinza News-sheet with local news and stories (also encouraging literacy amongst the Zinza people)

·         A 2007 calendar with scripture verses in Zinza

·         A leaflet outlining the Zinza alphabet (how to read and write in the Zinza language)

·         And lastly, of course, Genesis (published in Swahili and Zinza – diglot form)

All of these materials will be made available to the people (to be read and/or purchased) at a “Zinza Culture Center” which we will set up on Kome Island - the most prominent island in the area.

These are ambitious goals especially considering that we do not yet have the financial means of seeing that all of this is done. And yet, we have made the decision to move forward knowing that the Lord is able!  

LONG-TERM GOALS

After accomplishing our 18 month goals, our focus will shift toward the translation of the book of Luke.  The Zinza are excited that having this book translated means that the Jesus Film could be produced and shown throughout the islands!

Our focus will also remain on training the two Zinza national translators who have been selected to work full time on the Bible translation efforts.  Training and equipping national leaders will encourage future sustainability in addition to accelerating the output of Scripture/Bible portions and evangelistic tools.

Mbeya NT Cluster Translation Project Participate: Learn More, Pray, Invest Project Summary The people of western Tanzania are as diverse and varied as the rugged terrain. Some live high in the mountains, growing cool-weather crops like wheat and potatoes. Others live on the arid plains, growing cassava, millet and cotton, and still others live along lakeshores as fishermen. Some are isolated from the outside world; others travel extensively on business. In 2003, several church leaders formed a council to initiate Bible translation projects for their people. Forty leaders representing 10 languages and nine Christian denominations have committed to the project.The 10 teams have already begun studying their languages, developing their writing systems and compiling dictionaries. They are in various stages of drafting and revising the books of Ruth, Jonah and Mark. They will go forward together, planning the course of the translation work and researching the benefits that various new approaches and technologies could bring to the work. Updates for the past year: Low Resolution PDF (smaller file) | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 High Resolution PDF (larger file) | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 View Full Project Description

Participate Join the prayer team Learn more Partner Status Prayer Partners 4% 4 Current 96 Remaining Needed Current Year Opportunity 52% $79,181 Funded $71,780 Remaining Need Total Project Opportunity 100% $666,757 Funded $0 Remaining Need As of 3/10/2006 Demographics Location: Tanzania, Africa Speakers: 3,000,000 Start year: 2003 with Seed Company sponsorship in 2005 Length: 7 years Goals: NT + OT portions in 10 languages: Bena, Bungu, Kinga, Malila, Ndali, Nyakyusa, Nyiha, Safwa, Sangu, Wanji

Job Vacancies Archive

The following vacancies are not paid positions. Wycliffe does not provide salaries for its workers. Each member depends on a team of partners to support them. • Secondary Teacher, Uganda • Dictionary Specialist, Uganda • Teacher, primary (2), or Secondary English/History or Mathematics, based in Uganda