Kampala, Uganda - THE translated Bible in Ng'Karimajong has been launched to enable the people of Karamoja receive the word of God in their mother tongue and use it as a foundation stone to build their society.
The Ng'Karimajong Bible, whose translation work by the Bible Society of Uganda started in 1986, was launched at a colourful ceremony attended by Christians of the different denominations led by the Archbishop of Church of Uganda, His Grace Luke Orombi, the Archbishop of Northern Uganda, His Grace John Baptist Odama, Bishops and Pastors from the Karamoja region at Comboni Primary School in Kotido District on Wednesday.
The chief guest, the First Lady and Minister of State for Karamoja Affairs, Janet Museveni, represented by the State Minister for Disaster Preparedness Musa Ecweru, urged the Karimajong to use the Bible as their guide to serve the Lord obediently so as to inherit His blessings, saying that as they embrace the word of God, it will bring light wherever there has been darkness, enlightenment and the ability to embrace change, develop and prosper.
She said her vision and prayer for Karamoja is that of a blessed land that receives rain in season, where people eat and are full; and where the fruits of the land, the womb and increase of the cattle are all blessed.
She said that what has led to overnight crumbling of developed countries in the world is the people's disobedience to God's guidance and urged the Karimajong to search for the Living God and trust in him as their guide on their road to development.
The First Lady asked the bishops, church leaders and all Christians to pray for plenty of rainfall to enable food production which is a big problem in the region.
As minister responsible for emergencies, Musa Ecweru said the Government could not allow its people in Karamoja to die and schools to close because of lack of food. "Therefore, the Office of the Prime Minister has begun distributing food, opened up gardens and is distributing planting materials and also mobilised over 90,000 hoes to give farmers," he explained.
In his sermon, Archbishop Orombi said the translated Bible which the Karimajong can read and understand would open their eyes and they would start walking and working together as brothers and sisters to ensure peace in their region.
He said that word of God in the heart of a believer, which is like rain to the soil and salt to sauce, is the greatest resource which God would use to release the people of Karamoja from their life of poverty, famine, disease and insecurity.
He urged the Karimojong to have faith in God because His power is greater than the power of the gun and called upon them to use the Bible to transform their attitudes and lives.
The General Secretary of the Bible Society of Uganda, Simon Peter Mukhama, requested the Government to waive the taxes on the audio bibles (Proclaimers), partner with them in the area of Adult Literacy in Karamoja and to ensure that the current school curriculum facilitates reading in mother tongues so that the Ng'Karimajong Bible can be read by both today's and the upcoming generations.
The chairperson Kotido District, Grace Oyugi, welcomed the Bible saying that since it is in their local language and in both print and audio media it would reach both the literate and illiterate leaving no excuse to disarm the evil spirits in the people of Karamoja.
The First Lady contributed sh30m from the Peace Building Programme in Karamoja to enable selling of the Ng'Karimajong Bible at a subsidised affordable price and also over sh900,000 was raised for the cause during the occasion.
The launch activities included a procession through town led by a joint choir from Kotido Church of Uganda, prayers of adoration, supplication, liberation, forgiveness, unity, peace and spiritual awakening at various points, worship and dedication ceremonies and handing over bibles and certificates to various people, among whom was a Karimojong elder.