Stories from the Field, 5 Mar 2024
Speaker: Jim Moore
Who are the “mobile masses”? Just about everyone these days! Even in the most remote of villages, someone will have a mobile phone. In 2023, there were an estimated 6.7 billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide, and this is projected to increase to 7.7 billion by 2028!
Many people, even if they are literate, prefer to access Scripture in audio and/or video formats. In language communities where literacy is low, digital publishing meets a heartfelt need.
Kalaam Media
Kalaam Media was set up in 2008 to distribute translated Scripture in digital formats in countries where distributing printed Bibles was not practicable. Their vision is for people in every language community to experience abundant life through receiving digital scriptures expressed in their language and culture. Their first website was launched in 2010, and since then, they have launched 1,252 websites, developed 4,031 apps and trained 1,965 website managers across 100 countries.
Teams from Kalaam Media go to language communities to hold face-to-face workshops to teach locals to create and maintain the websites and apps. Some recent workshops were held in Guinea Bissau, Papua New Guinea and Cameroon. They also run a helpdesk which provides support by email or video calls. Other services provided include social media integration, cloud hosting and domain name management.
Funding and Staff
Kalaam Media does not charge the language communities for their services. Many communities may not be able to pay for continual upgrades and maintenance, which would make the websites and apps unusable after a while. Instead, Kalaam Media’s full-time staff raise their own support as missionaries, while unpaid volunteers serve part-time. Donations are also received from organisations and individuals. Costs are kept low – about US$50 per year to maintain a website.
Kalaam Media staff and volunteers work remotely from wherever they are based. They hail from all over – US, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, Singapore… Currently, the greatest needs are for a Software Development Manager, Digital Publishing Manager, Funding Manager, and a trainer for Social Media Promotion. There is always a need of volunteers to serve regularly, or for shorter durations on specific projects or workshops.
If you are interested in getting a taste of what Kalaam Media does, come along to a half-day workshop on 1 June 2024.
An example of a website: SuaraHakka (Voice of Hakka)
Kalamm Media
About the speaker:
Jim is the Managing Director of the Kalaam Media team which participates in the global effort to assist language communities to have their own internet presence.