In previous editions of Interact, we’ve featured the launch of values-based curriculum Choose Life in Kenyan schools. In this article from the latest issue of our magazine, Sam Luscombe profiles the development of Choose Wisdom, a Bible curriculum designed to help children in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo encounter the Bible’s life words, and find their place in its story.
The troubled history of DRCongo is well documented. Years of civil war have left the country in humanitarian crisis. Millions have died from violence, disease and malnutrition. In some areas, it is estimated that two out of every three women have been raped. Children have been forcibly recruited into the militia. Hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee their homes. It is into this dark, seemingly hopeless situation that Bible translators Roger Van Otterloo and his wife Karen are longing to let the Bible’s life words speak, bearing the seeds of possibility and of change; paving the way for stories to be reframed, lives rebuilt, hope restored.
Roger and Karen left the then-Zaire on furlough (leave) in July 1996, intending to return to continue their work with the Kifuliiru language group. Little did they know that civil war was soon to tear the country apart.
“All of our household items were looted, including all furniture, clothes, dishes, personal records, photos, toys, toilets, stove, windows, doors, lights, wires to the lights, switches, even the kitchen sink! All that was left was an empty shell.”
The war was to destroy not just their home, but also much of the work they had begun: including an embryonic curriculum for primary school-aged children. Unable to return to the newly renamed Democratic Republic of Congo, they were determined to find ways to allow the Bible’s life words to speak into the troubled, war-torn country they had once called home. Now, more than a decade later, in partnership with SGM Lifewords and others who shared their vision, they are finally starting to see that dream become a reality in the form of Choose Wisdom.
Pathways
Roger and Karen, members of Wycliffe Bible Translators, arrived in Zaire in July 1980, sponsored by the local denomination now known as CEPAC. For sixteen years, Roger worked with four co-translators on the Kifuliiru New Testament, grappling with the linguistic and exegetical issues, seeking to gift the Bafuliiru people with the Word of God in their heart language. As they lived and worked in the community, they became aware of an amazing opportunity to speak words of truth, hope, and direction into many young lives.
Roger explains: “We were faced with about 35,000 children in 40 primary schools in the Kifuliiru area. Although the laws of then-Zaire (and present-day DRCongo) allowed for the Bible to be taught in schools, there was no curriculum available. I was aware that something like 90% of the world’s Christians came to faith before they reached adulthood. We also knew that children are “wet cement.” The habits they learn in primary school stay with them for life.
“We saw this as one key to transforming DRCongo. After a long series of wars in the 60s and 70s (and, of course, in the 90s and now), the spiritual vitality of the country was being repeatedly challenged. In providing a Bible curriculum, we had a unique opportunity to infuse an entire generation with the Word of God, equipping children with truths which would enable them to live well and live wisely.” Seeing the need, Roger rose to the challenge. The first curriculum was distributed in the early 90s, and a revised version became available in 1995. Both were well-received by schoolteachers, and the potential for on-going development and expansion of the project was huge.
Partnership
With the outbreak of war in 1996, it seemed that all the hard work might have been in vain. Roger recalls: “Everything in the schools was looted, including that curriculum. We could not go back to live in the war zone. After two years of waiting, we saw that the war was going to drag on. So we relocated to Nairobi, Kenya. I felt like a fish out of water. No one spoke Kifuliiru, and all of our plans were on hold.”
However, in Nairobi, Roger met up with Lifewords (Scripture Gift Mission as-was) and began to discuss the resurrection of the curriculum. Convinced that it had the potential to impact not just the DRC, but the whole of Africa, they began work together on a Bible curriculum which could introduce children across the continent to the Bible’s life-giving words, sowing the seeds of possibility, of hope, and of change, impacting not just individual lives but whole communities. Choose Wisdom (and Choose Life) were born.
Where Choose Life (now in use in Kenya and Uganda with 11-14s) focuses on five core values, Choose Wisdom (designed for 6-11s) covers the major narrative themes of the Bible; including stories about creation, the people of Israel, the life and teachings of Jesus, and the Church. It joins the Bible’s life words with stories from everyday life and with traditional African proverbs, seeking to enable students to engage with and apply God’s ancient story, finding their place in it and living out its values.
Willing partners have been crucial in developing Choose Wisdom. The entire course of 270 lessons has been through four distinct versions before taking shape in its current form. But in the process it has had valuable input from African professionals, from Bible scholars, and from educational experts. With the course now completed in English, SGM Lifewords and Wycliffe International are working to translate and typeset it ready for piloting, first in French, then Kifuliiru, and Kiswahili (the trade language of much of East Africa).
Potential
At the end of last year, the story came full circle, as SGM Lifewords‘ Peter Mkolesia and Sammy Kamore, together with advisors Bettina Gottschlich from Wycliffe and Masine Munenwa from CEPAC, traveled to Kinshasa, the capital of DRC to meet with church leaders and introduce them to both Choose Life and Choose Wisdom. They were universally well received as church leaders recognised the potential of the programme, and it is hoped that both Choose Life and Choose Wisdom will be piloted in Congolese schools this September. For all those involved in the development of Choose Wisdom, there is plenty to celebrate in the presence of the King.
As one chapter of the story ends, another is just beginning. There is much still to do and to pray for. Funding is needed for curriculum materials. Illustrations need to be completed and manuals printed in time for the coming academic year. Teachers need to be trained. But as Roger affirms, the God who has equipped, enabled and guided thus far is faithful.
“I am very aware that everything that has happened has been because of the Lord’s grace and power. And only he can see this project to a fruitful conclusion. We covet the fervent and continual prayers of people around the world, as we believe that God does nothing without the prayers of his people paving the way. Please pray that this curriculum will help to transform the country of DRCongo, as well as many other countries across Africa, and even across the world.”
If you do not subscribe to Interact, you can join the mailing list here.
Photos: UNICEF