GILLBT TO BEGIN MORE BIBLE TRANSLATION PROJECTS BY 2025

GILLBT TO BEGIN MORE BIBLE TRANSLATION PROJECTS BY 2025

Management of the Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translation (GILLBT), at its 2010 Annual General Meeting in Tamale have declared that, by the year 2025 it hope to begin bible translation projects in all language groups in the country particularly for those who need it.

It is estimated that 60 different languages are spoken in Ghana, and GILLBT as a bible translating institution, is involved in over 34 language projects located in 6 Regions of Ghana. It has so far, completed New Testament translation into 28 languages and 5 of these now also have the whole Bible. Some of the languages it has translated include Frafra, Ahanta, Bimoba, Kassim, Kokomba, Kusal, Sissala, Vagla and among others GILLBT currently has 13 New Testament and 11 Old Testament projects in progress.

The institution grew out of work started in Ghana in 1962 as a branch of SIL International, an organization that serves language communities worldwide, building their capacity for sustainable language development, by means of research, translation, training and materials development. GILLBT was setup to provide alphabets, grammars and reading materials in Ghanaian languages and promote mother tongue literacy in language communities.

Besides, it exists to provide access to the Word of God in the mother tongue to language groups in Ghana and beyond in partnership with institutions like the University of Ghana through academic research, Bible translation, Scripture in Use, literacy development and training.

GILLBT is also a Member Organisation of Wycliffe Bible Translators International (WBTI) and each year, provides community based education for thousands of learners who are spiritually, socially, economically and politically marginalized.

Ahead of its vision 2025, the pioneer institution in bible translation in Ghana, has taken a serious management restructuring exercise with the appointment of a new Director, Deputy Director, Executive Secretary, and also created positions for Head of Finance, Associate Director for Partnership Development and Associate Director for Research, among others.

The new Director of GILLBT, Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah, said the institution has adopted a new strategy dubbed “Comprehensive Planning” that sought to introduce the practice of developing multi year, comprehensive, large scale projects to Wycliffe Member Organisations.

According to him, the Comprehensive Planning process would provide the opportunity to re-engineer and chart a new strategic direction for GILLBT stressing that it demands substantive participation by all, including the Trustees, Board, Management, projects and staff in collaboration with national and international partners.

Dr. Opoku-Mensah indicated that the institution was saddled a legal problem and huge financial challenges that have stalled most of its projects, and appealed for all hands on deck to deal with the situation with the seriousness it deserves.

This notwithstanding, he said that GILLBT has achieved a lot of feats including the translation of the Holy Bible into Ghanaian languages, in partnership with National Commission for Civic Education translated the abridge version of the 1992 Constitution into 24 Ghanaian languages, increased the literacy rate among the various tribes in Ghana and propagated the word of God to places it hasn’t reach.