Wolaytta Cassette Evaluation

From SPARK

Brief Summary

Continued listener interest testifies to the acceptability of the tape format.

Before the New Testament was available to the Wolaytta people a program to place cassette players and tapes of the New Testament was begun. The process included identifying problems and finding adequate solutions to make the program a success. Over 300 churches have players and cassettes for their churches. The church leaders have been instrumental in putting these oral Scriptures into use as group Bible studies. Their use of inspectors to check on the machines and tapes and to encourage the churches has been successful.

Introduction

The Wolaytta people have no books in their own language and so do not know what “reading” is all about. Anyone who “reads” to them up till now, reads from a book written in Amharic and gives a disjointed translation. The tapes demonstrate what Wolaytta “reading” is, and whets the appetite to read for oneself. These oral Scriptures are greatly preparing the people for the written form that is now being printed, that is, the whole New Testament.

What was done

Problems and their solutions or modifications

A. PROBLEM: Gospel Recordings in Australia has not been able to supply all the GRIP players we needed. And so, the program once started has been interrupted by lack of players.

SOLUTION: Program must wait until supplies are on hand. We now have 260 available for distribution, which relieves the problem.

B. PROBLEM: Maintaining the GRIP player, which was still a new product that needed modifications and parts changed.

SOLUTION:

• Set up central workshop for repairs that could not be done locally.
• Train inspectors to do simple repairs out in the districts.
• Hire a man to go around to the scores of churches using players, and make the modifications needed to avert breakdowns that had occurred in other players.

C. PROBLEM: One group of players produced in Hong Kong gave us many problems, chewing up tapes, loss of power, poor sound, poor materials.

SOLUTION: We had to replace all those Hong Kong produced players with Australian models and junk the Hong Kong models.

D. PROBLEM: Sometimes an inspector will not turn in a correct report, or fulfill his work.

SOLUTION: The Wolaytta church cassette administrator has discernment and deducts from their wages for incomplete work, and the church leaders have had to fire 2 inspectors for incompetence.

E. PROBLEM: Since we are recording Scriptures it is difficult to get singers and readers to perform for us. They are in popular demand in the churches and have full time ministries themselves

SOLUTION: The churches who employ them have kindly made these artists available and have given us great cooperation.

F. PROBLEM: Some churches develop internal quarrels and so the Bible study groups fall off from 7 to 3 or 4 groups per week.

SOLUTION: Spiritual renewal is the only lasting solution. Sometimes, however, the threat of giving their money back; to the taking away the player and the cassettes received; as well as not issuing the new tapes left in the subscription; makes them get the player back into use.

G. PROBLEM: Our cheaper duplicating equipment has given us a lot of trouble, especially the higher speed duplicator.

SOLUTION: Our present Sony CCP-13A duplicator is giving excellent results and is adequate, even if it copies at half the speed of the fast models.

Results

Successes

God’s hand of blessing on the project has been seen in the following ways:

• The first player went into use December 28, 1977. Those first players have now been in use for more than 20 years. The machines are still playing, and the people are still listening to oral Scriptures. This testifies to the persistence of the repairmen that have modified and maintained this new product in use. It also testifies to the tremendous cooperation of Gospel Recordings, Australia, who corrected weaknesses in the player and promptly made new parts available to us. Continued listener interest testifies to the acceptability of the tape format, which contains typically Wolaytta forms.

• There are now 314 churches using the players in oral Scripture groups per week using each player, making 2009 Bible study groups per week. Each group averages at least 13 listeners, which means that about 26,800 are currently listening to God’s Word each week.

• Most of the churches value their player and cassettes. One contributing factor is that even though the player and cassettes are subsidized, a church is making a purchase out of its own money that, by comparative standards, would match a $2,500 purchase by a small Canadian church.

• The use of Wolaytta type chanting of the Scriptures makes the audience sing along and participate. The antiphonal response, rhythm, and group involvement keeps listeners from going to sleep in these night study groups.

• When a church buys the cassettes, it must also buy books that contain what is read and sung on the tape. Readers of the Amharic, transferring to reading of Wolaytta, find that the tape is like a teacher to guide them. The chanting, which goes clause by clause, with an antiphonal response between clauses, gives slow readers the chance to follow in their books.

• Since the translation is idiomatic, or makes use of “closest natural equivalents,” it is quite readable and easily comprehended by listeners. Perhaps this easy comprehension from the tapes has been one factor in the acceptance of this new translation by the Wolaytta church. New translations are not known to be always readily accepted, especially in established churches.

• The noteworthy cooperation of the Wolaytta church leaders has been instrumental in putting these oral Scriptures into use in the churches. Their use of inspectors to check on the machines and tapes, and to encourage the churches in the group Bible studies has been vital to the ongoing program.

• The Administrator does not issue a player to only one person from a church. He insists that each church in a district obtaining a player must send the pastor and the four elders to a one day course at a central convenient church in the district. There he makes sure that 3 or 4 leaders in the church get trained in the use of the player and the Bible study program. What one forgets, the other can supply when they get home.

• This program cannot be carried on without subsidy. The actual materials are costing us about U.S. $85 per church. Since each church pays $25, the subsidy on each set of materials is $60.00. In addition to this are the recording equipment, wages for singers, readers, and technicians. And so, S.I.M. and the hundreds of related contributors have made this project a financial success. And this is no little thing!

What would you do differently if you could begin the project again?

I’m not sure that I would do many things differently. Some methods were forced upon us, which I would recommend be done again, even if circumstances differed.

As manuscripts became available for the printers, we recorded them and put them into oral use immediately. This meant that we could not issue the whole 25 cassettes at one time. We issued 12 cassettes to begin with and then another 6 and the remaining 7 are being issued now. I would again spread out the issuing of the 25 cassettes so that the group gets new impetus to study the new material. It is like a magazine subscription, appearing in eagerly anticipated installments.

Since we did not have a large amount of tape players available for distribution, issuing was done by lot. To purchase a player and cassettes was a privilege – thus making the product honorable and respected, for it was keenly sought after.

Also, because there were only a few players available to begin with, the Administrator was able to have time to adequately train church leaders in the use of players and the Bible study program. He did not have to train all of the 14 inspectors at one time and so could give quality training to those participating in the program and grow with the program himself. This was forced on us, but is a good course of action that God in His sovereignty gave us.

How do you feel the project might be improved?

The Administrator needs to check the work of the inspectors more closely. His spot checks on some areas have shown up deficiencies in the inspector’s work. As the placement of players eases off, he will get more time for this.

By Marilyn Malmstrom

Additional information

As of August 2008 Faith Comes By Hearing was seeking funding for producing their program for Wolaytta.