Word to the World Ministries Uganda trained over 70 people of different ethnicities how to translate a bible into their locally spoken languages.
The training took one month at Bethesda Ministries located at Nantabuulirwa Cell in Mukono Central Division.
The considered languages include; Aliba, Gimara, Kuku, Reli, Rushongora and Kusua. Others are; Ruvanoma, Rutuku, Rutagwenda, Menning, Ngiporein, Nganyangia and Ngakutio.
Rev. Captain Canon Titus Baraka a retired mission director for the Province of the Church of Uganda says some of their languages such as Kuku are not reorganized in the country.
Born at Kayunga, Baraka says they have always been referred to as a Sudanese yet the Ugandan constitution recognizes the Kuku as one of the traditional tribes.
“It’s a blessing that Kuku community is yet to get its first translated Bible with the help of the Word for the World Uganda to avail us an opportunity get our first literature on paper.”
Sandra Mivule Tuhumiirwe, the Executive Director for Word to the World says Uganda has got a total of 79 local languages but most of them are marginalized and not recognized though they have started with only 14.
“These languages are referred to as non-languages and for that note, they are likely to get extinct, but we want to tell the world that they indeed exist. A language is part of culture and if helped to record its literature and other norms despite being with limited numbers of people, it can act as a tourism attraction,” Tumuhiirwe says.
Grace Kugonza from Budongora village in Kasese district who is a Mushongora by tribe expressed her gratitude for having been among the students saying anyone who lacks a language also lacks culture.
Bishop Maurice Bukenya of Eden Revival Church at Wandegeya who is the chairperson Constitution Review Commission while closing the training, handed over certificates to the participants and urged them to follow the guidelines given to them as they are translating the Bible.
Bukenya says the people who speak these 14 selected languages that are marginalized are now going to get the chance of reading the scriptures in the languages they understand better.
“Most of us are saved and got to understand God just because we got a chance to read Bibles in the languages we understood and are our mother tongues,” he said.
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