Located in the southwestern part of Ethiopia, the Sheko people group have an estimated population of 56,000 people. TWFTW’s Bible translation project in Sheko started in 2006. The turnover of translators, due in part to the project having limited financial support, slowed its progress. Currently, three full time translators make up the team and diligently continue working on the project. 

The Sheko Bible translation project has proved how the Word of God can have a huge impact in bringing reconciliation to an entire people group. As within many communities, conflicts sometimes arise between people. In the Sheko community, they struggled with conflicts in the area for months. The community leader decided to sort out the issues through the involvement of other leaders in the community. When the leaders selected respected people to represent the community, they selected people from different local churches and from government offices. The community leaders also included people from the Sheko Bible translation project (Philemon Dosha, Melese Dadi, and Sintayehu) to participate in the discussions—an honor for the three translators. 

The community leader said, “One of the hopes of our community is the Sheko Bible. Without the translators’ involvement, the peace cannot be maintained. The Sheko Bible translators are some of our key people who can affect our community positively.”