The Ovahanda come from the south of Angola in the province of Cunene, and live extensively in the province of Huíla and surrounding regions. We are told that they’re very fond of riddles and are a humble people who don’t get carried away or like meaningless changes. They survive on agriculture, and breed cattle, goats, pigs, and chickens. They live mainly in villages with wattle and daub buildings. Although they are traditionally a polytheistic people, there is a hunger for the Word of God that we see through the stories we hear about the impact of the translated Word in the local communities.

Pastor Dungodungo said that he and his evangelism team were able to tell some of the Bible narratives in three different communities, at times, to groups of over 100 people. He was very positive about the impact they were having. According to the communities, the fact that the Bible is in their mother languages leads them to know that God loves them and is interested in them personally. This opens the door for the gospel to be presented more effectively in these communities. 

This translation is now in phase 2 of translation, having started as part of the Huila Cluster together with Olucilenge and !Xun. The three language projects have faced various hurdles in the process of getting started with their new phase of translation. There were also technical difficulties with the software that they need to use for translation, which the Oluhanda team is continuing to struggle with as they work through Genesis.