Gavar in Cameroon

People Name:	Gavar
Country:	Cameroon
10/40 Window:	No
Population:	22,000
World Population:	22,000
Primary Language:	Gavar
Primary Religion:	Islam
Christian Adherents:	8.00 %
Evangelicals:	1.80 %
Scripture:	Translation Started
Ministry Resources:	No
Jesus Film:	No
Audio Recordings:	Yes
People Cluster:	Chadic
Affinity Bloc:	Sub-Saharan Peoples
Progress Level:

Introduction / History

When the sun peeks between the hills of Cameroon's "Far North," Gavar speakers leave the huts that provide shelter for sleeping and storage for their few material goods. They spend most of their day outside, and in the cooler rainy season, field work is always waiting. Using familiar hand tools, they must harvest the vegetables and staples that will feed their families throughout the rest of the year.

A field plowed early in the season behind a donkey or a cow yields a little cotton the family can market for essential cash. Soon enough, temperatures of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit will shrivel whatever vegetation is left in this sub-Saharan Sahel Desert.

Over several centuries, the Gavar people have continually resisted waves of invasion pressing them to convert to another major religion. Into the backdrop of African traditional religion, Christians from other parts of Cameroon brought the Gospel to this area in the 1970s. Concurrently, government schools and health clinics are opened. Many Gavar speakers have become Christians, but churches use the majority language, also spoken by their aggressive neighbors who don't share their religion.