In January I went to Mpanda in west Tanzania, near Lake Tanganyika, together with three other colleagues.  We had a meeting with some Bishops and pastors from various churches with whom we are planning to start work later this year.  After the meeting we met a lady outside.  We found out that she is Ndali and we told her that there is literature in her language.

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For thirty minutes each Sunday evening since the beginning of this year, recordings of the Scriptures which have been translated into mother tongue have been broadcast over the local radio. When I was returning home from church late one Sunday afternoon in November, the wife of a friend phoned me. She wanted to tell me that she had been listening to the Vwanji Scriptures on the radio and that they had been a blessing to her and had touched her deeply. She went on to thank me for the work we are doing in translating the Scriptures so that people can hear them in their mother tongue and to encourage us to persevere in the task.

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For many people here in Tanzania, the language that they grew up speaking may not even exist in written form, and even if it does, they may never have seen it and are even less likely to have heard it as some kind of recording.

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The real value of translated materials in the Malila language was evident at the end of their Friday market day. Despite not having money in the morning people were able to return to the bookstall late in the afternoon and buy materials in their language.

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Before the Malila language committee met to discuss spelling issues, a Tanzanian man told the committee their job was like smashing snake eggs. (This certainly got everyone's attention!)

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