Kenya - March 4th

The morning of March 4th 2023 turned out to be a pleasantly warm and vibrant day at the Carnivore Grounds in Nairobi. This was the day that the annual fundraising event, Run for the Bibleless, was being held in Nairobi, Nakuru and Eldoret. In Nairobi, the young and old alike arrived early at the venue. Some came riding their bicycles, while others were on their roller skates; all were welcome to be a part of this initiative. The various corporate sponsors of the event also settled at their designated spots waiting to offer their services to the Run participants.

Soon, the grounds were filled to capacity with over 10,000 participants. With the arrival of the Chief Guest, H.E. Hon. Johnson Sakaja, the Governor of Nairobi County, the event was ready to start. In his remarks, Hon. Sakaja noted the value of the Scriptures, saying “many of us are where we are because of God’s Word, how we were raised depended on it and it is unfair that many don’t have that opportunity because of their unwritten languages. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God, and many people need to get that opportunity.” 

BTL’s National Director, Rev. Peter Munguti, reminisced about the growth of the Nairobi Run since 2008, when it was first launched. He also appreciated the participants for taking part in the Run every year, saying “Thank you for attending the Run in the years. We are running so that the Pokomo, Daasanach, Rendille, Samburu and other small language groups can receive the Bible for the very first time and their lives are transformed.” 

Mr. Ngetich was one of the participants in the Run. He hardly fails to attend the event. This year he came with his entire family including an infant. “For me, the Run is a great time to bond with my family as we walk together in support of a worthwhile cause. Thank you BTL for giving us this platform”.

The funds raised from this event will help to meet the cost of completing five New Testaments and two full Bibles that are at the final stages of translation in the 2023 calendar year.

Ethiopia - March 20th

This year SIL Ethiopia celebrated its 50th anniversary. We hosted a Run for the Bibleless event as part of a chain of other events, like the presentation of papers related to SIL Ethiopia, a panel discussion, a youth symposium, and a “come and see” initiative where we opened SIL to visitors and gave information about what SIL Ethiopia has been doing in the Bible translation and language development ministries. The whole event ran from March 2nd to March 20th, 2023.  

Our “Run for the Bibleless People” event was a closing event. We invited churches, theological institutions, students, SIL Ethiopia partners, individual Christians, SIL Ethiopia staff, and staff families. A total of 230 people were registered and around 150 people participated. The event had three groups of runners; those doing the adult 5 km, adult 2 km, and children’s 1 km run. This event took place in the well-known and beautiful “Entot Park”; a quiet highland area of Addis Ababa. The event was opened by Michel Kenmogne Ph.D. (Executive Director of SIL International) and the speakers included Yonatan Zeamanuel, Ph.D. (the Area Director for Anglophone and Lusophone Africa) and Johnstone Ndunde, Ph.D. We all ran with joy for the Bibleless People while also celebrating our 50th anniversary which marks the next mission of SIL Ethiopia.