Cuvok in Cameroon

Introduction / History

A progressive people, the Cuvok are resilient in the face of difficulties. Stomachs grow hungry each August when the previous harvest is depleted and the new crops are not yet mature in the fields. In this desert climate water is often scarce. Cuvok people live in simple, earthen homes in villages without electricity or running water. Most people are subsistence agriculturalists who also grow cotton as a cash crop. The main staple of their diet is millet. They also grow peanuts, beans, onions and other things. Pray for practical community development ministries to come to the aid of the Cuvok people and alleviate some of the hardship of life.

Cuvok is spoken in fifteen villages west of Maroua in the Mokolo Subdivision of the Far North Province. This group is surrounded by neighboring languages Mafa, Mofu-South and Fulfulde. Many Cuvok people are using Fulfulde now as a language of wider communication. They also understand Mafa and Mofu-South to some degree, but generally not well. French bilingualism is low because so few people have the opportunity to attend school. The Cuvok people have definite need of Bible translation. Ask God to raise up qualified, Spirit-filled people to translate the Word of God into the Cuvok language.

There are a total of nineteen Christian congregations in the fifteen Cuvok villages (ten Eglise Evangelique, eight Catholic, one Baptist). The village of Bilyak has no church. Christians say that they really desire Bible translation, even to the point of having organized an interdenominational committee to discuss the idea. Because leadership in the area is Muslim, however, there are some people who might oppose Bible translation. Pray for the spiritual growth of believers, that people's lives will be profoundly impacted by the Word of God, and that many Cuvok people will turn from false religious ideologies to faith in Christ.

Text Source:   Anonymous