They primarily speak their own language, and few understand English or other languages well enough to study an existing Bible. Translators began working on the Dogrib New Testament in 1955. A team of national translators now hopes to finish the translation within two years. In order to make God s Word available to as many Dogrib as possible, they will produce the New Testament on audio and video cassettes as well as publishing it in book form. Local churches and agencies cover about two-thirds of project expenses.
Help is needed to pay for remaining costs, including the national translators salaries.
After trying another candidate, a national translator invited a blind woman she had befriended to fill the role. The blind woman has now checked a number of epistles and seems to be perfect fit. Although she is only allowed to work a limited hours per week for pay, so as not to jeopardize her disability allowance, this woman has consistently volunteered to work at least as many hours for free each week. A Catholic priest who had been using an outdated, unpublished Dogrib translation has now switched to using the new Dogrib Scripture portions. He used to spend hours each Saturday editing and adjusting the old translation to make it readable on Sunday morning.