This past August, the Keliko people of South Sudan celebrated a momentous milestone: after 20 years of perseverance through the hardships of civil war and displacement, the Keliko translation team has completed their translation of the New Testament.
SIL International, a partner of the Wycliffe Global Alliance (WGA) in the Bible translation movement, celebrated a milestone of its own: the Keliko translation is the 1,000th New Testament to be completed with SIL involvement. For the Keliko translation, SIL partnered with WGA organizations that included Wycliffe Sweden, Wycliffe Netherlands, Wycliffe UK, and Wycliffe USA.
The Keliko New Testament dedication took place on Aug.11, 2018 in northern Uganda, where members of the translation team fled when war broke out in their homeland. For some 70,000 Keliko speakers from South Sudan, many of whom now live as refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, the ability to access God’s Word in their own language is finally a reality. A newly signed peace agreement has begun to raise hopes of returning home. The peace of God’s Word promises an even greater hope: the transformation of Keliko lives through a direct encounter with God through His written Word in their heart language.
Photos by Marc Ewell