Speakers of Wogeo live on Vokeo and Koil islands two of the Schouten Islands in the Wewak District of East Sepik Province. Wogeo is used for face-to-face communication within all generations but is losing users. Speakers also use Tok Pisin in which they have a literacy rate of between 5 and 15 per cent, but sadly in their mother tongue the literacy rate falls below 5%.
Anthropologists have studied the Wogeo people several times, in 1934, 1948 and the 1990s, so there is plenty of knowledge in academic circles about them.
However, from a practical standpoint, the Vokeo and Koil Islanders have great needs. In 2015 they faced starvation as a drought destroyed their food gardens and water sources. After surviving on coconuts and just one water well, the government finally delivered water tanks and rice bales to them by helicopter, while mainland villagers prepared bags of sago for their suffering neighbors to eat.
One thing the Wogeo have plenty of is faith! 96 per cent identify as Christian.
Pray for infrastructure development that will protect these dear people from starvation in the future.
Pray that God will reveal himself sweetly and mightily as they persevere without scripture in their own language.
Pray that a Wogeo translation could be made, perhaps using the New Testament of the Manam, which is a related language.
Scripture Prayers for the Wogeo in Papua New Guinea.
Wycliffe Bible Translators
| Profile Source: Joshua Project |
