Dieudonné Somé is a pastor in the town of Banfora in Burkina Faso. He is one of the men who helped translate Simple Truths into the Jula (Dyula) language. He is also one of the men responsible for the distribution of Simple Truths in both Jula/Dyula and Dagara in the Central and Western regions of the country.  Dieudonné sent a note to tell us how the books are being received and used there.

Here is an excerpt of his letter:

Hi Daddy (Tom),

I have some comments about the books in Dagara. I sent the books in Dagara to Pastor Diebougou Dano. The people in that area made many comments, but many are same:

“Oh blessed be to the Lord – for the Dagara people have now something to read about God. We taught our people how to write and to read in Dagara, but we don’t have any documents for them. Now we are happy for this book. Even the unbelievers will read it and they will know God.”

Another pastor said, “Alleluia!  Dagara people have now a way to know about the Bible.”

Yet another said, “Thank you Dieudonné. Please tell to your friends that we appreciate the gift.  It very useful for us. I would like the other tribes to get (the book) in there own language also.”

And from the leader of pastor Dano’s area: “The book is very useful for is. May God bless the (people) who made the book. On behalf of pastors of my district, I thank the man who made these books for (the Dagara people).”

This past spring, CSM printed more than 15,000 books in Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso. All of the books were then distributed to churches among the Dagara, Jula (Dyula), and Mooré language groups. French versions were also made available, as French is the official language for basic education.

Burkina Faso has historically been one of the least literate countries in West Africa, but many church leaders are helping to address that problem. The “petit livre” is helping them, not only teach the Bible, but is being used as a basic literacy tool as well.