“I hold seminars with pastors, teaching them how to work with the materials,” she explains. “When, after evaluation, we know attendees have learned to read, we give them certificates and a New Testament of their own.”

Draw strength

One student, Joseph Sillien, said, “Before learning to read, I couldn’t qualify for the job I wanted. Now I’m able to read the Bible. When I do, I draw strength. It brings me closer to God.”

In total, the Bible Society aims to distribute 10,000 New Testaments free of charge to people like Mr Sillien.

The Bible Society’s other main new venture is an ambitious translation project: a Creole Study Bible. Nelson Saldac, one of the five pastors involved, says it has taken a year to complete the first phase of the project, writing an introduction to each book of the Bible. “It’s a project for which we have great passion — to help readers clearly understand the Bible,” he declares. Although factors including the unstable political situation have resulted in slow progress with this work, the Bible Society is confident that, when completed, the study Bible will be of great use for Haitian pastors and Christians and that it will be a model for other study Bibles in the French Creole-speaking Caribbean.

In all its work, the greatest challenge facing the Bible Society is to bring the Word of God to ordinary Haitians in an appropriate format and at a price they can afford at a time of severe economic hardship.

Glimmer of hope

“We’re sometimes discouraged by the poverty of the population and their inability to buy a Bible,” says General Secretary Magda Victor. “A Bible in Creole sells for 175 gourdes (US$4.57), more than a day’s wages for many Haitians.”

Recently, though, there was a glimmer of hope. “I ran into our accountant, one of the most respected in Haiti, at church,” continues Mrs Victor. “She has audited the Bible Society’s books for many years. She is so impressed with the work that we do and with the efficiency with which we do it, that she decided to make a donation. She gave an extraordinary 200,000 gourdes (US$5,227).”