The Bali-Vitu people live off the northwest coast of West New Britain, on the island of Unea. They are about 50 nautical miles from the main island of West New Britain.
Tens of thousands of years ago, the island was an active volcano, but it is now dormant. When the volcano collapsed, it formed a spectacular 6-kilometre-wide caldera rim all around Unea Island.
Unea Island is in the Talasea district of West New Britain Province. The population across the district is very young. Almost half the population are 15 years old or younger.
Fishing is a major source of food for the Bali-Vitu people. They otherwise rely on their gardens for food crops.
Some may produce copra (from coconuts) as a source of cash. Cocoa is also re-emerging as a cash crop in response to high prices. It is also likely that some of the islanders are highly skilled in wood carving and in weaving baskets, which they sell in the markets for cash.
The Bali-Vitu people travel to the coastal towns to sell their garden food and crops for cash. This allows them to pay school fees and to purchase store supplies such as rice and fuel for their boats. It can take them half a day to reach Kimbe, the capital city of West New Britain.
One in four can likely read with good comprehension. This is good by national standards. Self-reported literacy rates in the Talasea District are 77% for males and 72% for females (NRI 2010), but self-reported literacy rates in PNG have been found to overstate actual literacy by about three to one. The standard of education on Unea Island itself has yet to be confirmed, but the presence of the Catholic Church on Unea Island probably means that children have had access to a quality education in Catholic schools.
The Catholic Church has long had a significant presence in the district, including Unea Island. The Catholic Church has been an advocate for Bible translation in the neighboring island of Bali-Vitu.
The people of Bali-Vitu speak Kombe. The Catholic C
Without the Bible in their language, the Bali-Vitu people struggle to understand the message of the Good News. Syncretism, or the merging of other beliefs with Christian teaching, is difficult to avoid without the Scriptures.
An audio or oral transla
Pray that the Bali-Vitu people will turn to the Lord in times of trouble, to the Maker of heaven and earth.
Scripture Prayers for the Bali-Vitu in Papua New Guinea.
Eberhard, David M., Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2025. Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Twenty-eighth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com.
NRI (The National Research Institute) 2010
| Profile Source: Joshua Project |
