Cameroon
JAARS-trained pilots currently operate three aircraft in Cameroon—a Cessna 206, based in Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé; and a Helio Courier and Robinson R44 helicopter, both stationed in the North West province.
Together, these aviation bases provide service to translators and support personnel in seven Central African countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
In addition, our pilots often transport equipment for community development, perform lifesaving medical evacuations, and fly missionaries’ children to a Christian boarding school in Yaoundé. Pilots in the North West province also work closely with the local hospital to serve the medical needs of thousands of Cameroonians.
Terrain
Cameroon is often dubbed “Africa in miniature,” because it exhibits every type of the continent’s terrain: dense rain forests, sprawling mangrove swamps, savannas, mountains and arid deserts. Nearly half the country is blanketed in forests, including the Congo Rain Forest, which stretches across much of Central Africa.
Central Africa is also home to plateaus and savannas, gorges and coastal plains, scattered hills and mountains. Many areas of this diverse region lack adequate transportation infrastructure; roads can be mud-drenched, overgrown, narrow or simply nonexistent—making air transportation crucial for dozens of translation programs.
Translation and Literacy Work
Hundreds of languages are spoken throughout Central Africa—some by millions of Africans, others by no more than a dozen. Together with Nigeria, this region hosts more than 20% of the remaining language groups without God’s Word. Because of this, Wycliffe Bible Translators has identified these countries as one of the three “areas of greatest need” for translation work.
Today, more than 80 language development programs are underway in Central Africa, many of which are led by African translation organizations. Literacy programs have enabled thousands of Central Africans to read in their own language, and media tools are being used more frequently to communicate God’s Word in local languages.
Yet the task is still immense: in Central Africa and neighboring Nigeria, more than 500 translations have yet to begin.
