It’s always amazing to see how the Reach4Life Bible impacts so many aspects of a life and a community, whether spiritual, academic, mental, emotional, or physical. Recent testimonies from schools in KwaZulu Natal demonstrate this holistic transformation in a beautiful way:
“The Department of Education has been encouraging teachers to help learners to read and to write properly. We as teachers were asked to get kids to bring reading materials to school; an hour daily has been allocated to this ‘Readers Project.’ But most kids were bringing in a bar of soap paper or an old newspaper or a box of washing powder. This was because there were no books at home. Most parents are struggling to put food on the table. Asking them to get books was not going to happen.
“But when the headmaster saw how kids were glued to the Zulu Reach4Life Bible, he suggested we use it as a ‘Reader Project’ tool. The kids are now learning to read well, and their level of understanding is much better. Reach4Life is perfect tool to get the youth to read. They enjoy the fun topics. This Zulu Reach4Life Bible gets taught for an hour each day in the school.”
Amanda Maphumulo age 12, from Mngayi Primary School, Ladysmith, Kwazulu Natal, says, “When I got my Reach4Life Bible, the first thing I did was to take a marker pen and boldly wrote my name on the book. In my school, we study the Reach4Life Bible during our ‘Life Orientation’ class.” She also testifies how her English has improved, including her spelling. She shares, “When I grow up, I will make sure all the kids in our village get this book. I love my Reach4Life Bible.”
Numerous other children, like Sipho (pictured left) and Owethu (pictured right) from Dumangubuhle Primary school testify about the positive impact Reach4Life has had on their literacy skills.
Sipho says: “I love my Zulu Reach4Life Bible. It teaches me not to smoke, not to be a bully, not to mistreat girls, and to obey God. I read it every day. Even if our group doesn’t meet, I still read it. I understand everything written in it because it’s in my home language of IsiZulu. I thank God for the Reach4Life program in my school.”
Owethu shares: “I read my Zulu Reach4Life Bible to my grandma every day before bed. Even when I am tired, she will call me to come read for her. She says, ‘This is a sweet Zulu Bible.’ Sometimes she borrows it to take to the lady’s prayer meetings at her church. Other mothers borrow it to show it to their kids at home. I am always running up and down chasing after my book so that it doesn’t get lost in the many hands that are using it in my village. I love learning about Jesus and about how I need to behave as a teenager.”
In addition to these encouraging stories, our latest impact evaluations in Angola and South Africa confirm that Reach4Life program participants are significantly more likely to:
- Believe that the Bible is relevant.
- Experience fewer barriers to Bible reading.
- Read the Bible several time a week or more.
- Be motivated to read the whole Bible.
Our research uncovered many more encouraging insights about the impact of Reach4Life on the beliefs and behaviours of young people. We look forward to sharing them with you soon. Thank you for your partnership as we disciple young hearts and see God’s Word bring holistic transformation to lives, schools, and entire communities.
