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Trinitarian Bible Society – Quarterly RecordVersion—with the Old Testament addedin 1952.There have been five major versions inKiSwahili: Kiugunja in 1891, Kimvita in1914, Roehl in 1937, 16 the Swahili Unionin 1952, and Habari Njema in 1996. Themeaning of the last-named will indicatethe pedigree of this chain; ‘Habari Njema’means ‘Good News’. It was begun in1973 as an inter-denominational andinternational effort; Roman Catholic andProtestant traditions were accepted in thisedition. At the risk of repeating myself,how great is the need for a sound Bibleversion in this widely-used language!TBS has been investigatingfor some time what can bedone in this language, but wedo not yet have a firm projectin hand; please pray that theLord would provide us withsuitably qualified personnel toundertake the much neededwork of preparing a faithfuland accurate version of theSwahili Scriptures translatedout of the original tongueswith reference to the best ofthe former translations. Of theseventy-four people groups inKenya, eighteen are listed in OperationWorld as unreached. TBS has involvementin only two Kenyan Bible projects, Pokotand EkeGusii.Pokot (Pökoot)In 1931 Christian missionaries establisheda work in the Turkana region of Kenyaamong the Pokot. The Bible Churchmen’sMissionary Society (Anglican) set up aministry in Kacheliba, and about thesame time the African Inland Missionbegan work at Maron among the eastPokot. These missionaries found the Pokotresistant to Christianity, as well as toeducation and other development help,and the Pokot have sustained a reputationfor resistance to Western and Christianinfluences.About half of the Pokot are semi-nomadic,semi-pastoralists: people who herd cattle,sheep, and goats and live off the productsof their stock. Others are agriculturalists,living wherever conditions allow farming.Pokot society is thoroughly paternalistic: awoman has no voice in any public forums;she has no authority within her ownhomestead, being considered as ‘foolish’ asthe cows for which she is traded.Believing that death is the end of life, withno afterlife, this present world is mostMr and Mrs Tottys’ home todayimportant and is precious to the Pokot.Much of their religious ritual is involvedin warding off illness or in effecting cures.Most Pokot still follow their traditionalreligion: approximately 15% of Pokot aredesignated Christian while the remaining85% are traditionalists. Even among theChristians, the traditional religion worldviewis still dominant.A notable missionary to the Pokot wasLawrence Totty. Born in Wellington,Shropshire, in 1908, later moving toCheltenham, in the late 1920s he becamea missionary for the Bible Churchmen’sMissionary Society (BCMS, now Crosslinks).In 1930, the BCMS sent him to Kacheliba,26