The Guerguiko New Testament has been launched at an event in Moukoulou, in the Guera province, and attended by almost 2,000 people who were able to buy the Bibles and download it as an app.
The launch had been delayed on several occasions and only just avoided another lockdown in the capital, N’Djamena.
For the Guerguiko-speaking community, finally being able to handle the printed New Testament is a joyful and literally hands-on moment.
‘Now, today, the dedication of the New Testament gives me great joy,’ said Rateigna Terap, a member of the Guerguiko translation team. ‘I have the New Testament in my hands, and I am going to use it myself in my mother tongue.’
A former member of the translation team, Issa Atche, said: ‘Truly, the Guerguiko New Testament is of great importance to the community. Today, we are very proud to have now, in our hands, the New Testament in Guerguiko.’
Translation work first started on the New Testament 28 years ago. Although the printed New Testaments arrived in Chad at the beginning of 2020, a series of events caused the launch to be put back. Initially, the New Testaments were blocked in customs. Then the original launch event in April had to be abandoned because of the coronavirus.
Several hundred copies of the printed version were sold, and the app version was also available for those with smartphones.
