JANUARY 29, 2025
CAMEROON
The Bible Book of Matthew Released in Douala
On January 19, 2025, Brother Douglas Dunsire, a member of the Cameroon Branch Committee, released the Bible book of Matthew in Douala. The announcement was made to an audience of 995 gathered for a special program in the city of Douala, Cameroon. An additional 43 tied in to the program via videoconference. The release was immediately made available for download from jw.org and in the JW Library app. A print edition will be released once the complete New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures is available in Douala.
At least one million people in Cameroon speak Douala. The first complete Douala-language Bible was published in the late 19th century and remains in use today. Notably, it uses God’s personal name, Jehovah, in what is commonly called the Old Testament. Jehovah’s Witnesses began publishing Bible-based materials in Douala in 1950, but a ban on their activity in Cameroon from 1970 to 1993 temporarily halted the translation work. Today, nearly 900 brothers and sisters serve in 18 Douala-speaking congregations throughout Cameroon. These zealous brothers and sisters look forward to using the new release as part of the over 900 Bible studies they conduct.