Our Vision

There’s a profound yet often unseen need within South Africa’s Deaf community: access to God’s Word in a way they can truly understand. While hearing individuals might take Scripture for granted, for those born Deaf, traditional Bible translations often feel like a foreign language filled with idioms and expressions that simply do not resonate. This reality inspired the Bible Society’s Scripture beyond Silence campaign.

On National Women’s Day, South Africa remembers the brave women of 1956 who walked together in defiance of injustice. But courage does not only march through the streets of history – sometimes, it walks through the neighbourhoods of Cape Town with a pocket full of gospel booklets and a heart filled with love. Marietjie Bowers is one of those women. At 78 years old, she continues to share the love of Jesus on the streets – at traffic lights, in shopping queues, outside unemployment offices and even from a horse cart.

Today we celebrate Ascension Day and soon Pentecost Sunday. This provides us with an opportunity to lift our eyes above the chaos and remember eternal truths that reframe everything happening around us. In 1 Peter 1:3-5, the apostle reminds us of a living hope – a hope that is not rooted in wishful thinking or naive optimism, but rather an unshakeable hope grounded in what Jesus has already done and where he is now.  

When a language disappears, it takes a unique world view, centuries of cultural heritage and a living bond between generations. Bible translations offer more than spiritual nourishment – they create a foundational text that anchors a language in written form, encourages literacy and instils pride in communities, who often face social or cultural pressure to abandon their mother tongue.