Australia - Wontulp-Bi-Buya College (Tax Deductible)
Bible Society is underpinning a strategic gospel work that is profoundly impacting indigenous Australia.
Wontulp-Bi-Buya College in Cairns is training Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students for ministry – equipping them to communicate the Gospel and the whole Word of God to their own communities using local forms of communication and language.
Literacy support is a vital element of the learning experience at Wontulp because many of the students have limited knowledge of English, low literacy levels, and poor reading habits. Without a solid literacy grounding, their comprehension of the Bible and their ability to apply it to their own lives and teach its truths to others will be seriously limited.
Together with Wontulp’s Literacy Tutors, Father Barry Paterson ensures each passage of Scripture being studied is clearly understood, and equips students to better express themselves in spoken and written form.
“Our job is to help them to study their Bible more deeply,” says Barry, “ensuring they are well-equipped to be leaders and Bible teachers for their own people.”
“The benefit of Literacy Support is that it bridges the gap between the plain English of our studies and the formal style of English Bibles on the one hand, and the local language forms on the other,” Barry explains. “Students’ improved literacy skills then feed back into better understanding and the ability to communicate more effectively to their own communities in local language forms.”
Having returned to their communities, students are able to utilise the skills they acquire at Wontulp to produce new Scripture materials in indigenous languages and help others to interact meaningfully with them.
Wontulp-Bi-Buya College in Cairns is training Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students for ministry – equipping them to communicate the Gospel and the whole Word of God to their own communities using local forms of communication and language.
Literacy support is a vital element of the learning experience at Wontulp because many of the students have limited knowledge of English, low literacy levels, and poor reading habits. Without a solid literacy grounding, their comprehension of the Bible and their ability to apply it to their own lives and teach its truths to others will be seriously limited.
Together with Wontulp’s Literacy Tutors, Father Barry Paterson ensures each passage of Scripture being studied is clearly understood, and equips students to better express themselves in spoken and written form.
“Our job is to help them to study their Bible more deeply,” says Barry, “ensuring they are well-equipped to be leaders and Bible teachers for their own people.”
“The benefit of Literacy Support is that it bridges the gap between the plain English of our studies and the formal style of English Bibles on the one hand, and the local language forms on the other,” Barry explains. “Students’ improved literacy skills then feed back into better understanding and the ability to communicate more effectively to their own communities in local language forms.”
Having returned to their communities, students are able to utilise the skills they acquire at Wontulp to produce new Scripture materials in indigenous languages and help others to interact meaningfully with them.
Time Frame: Annual
Funding Required: $135,000.00
Funding Required: $135,000.00
