International Training Team
Dr. Véroni Krüger
Founder President
Véroni Krüger is passionate about empowering indigenous individuals and organisations for Bible translation, and to assume leadership in all aspects of mission, including Bible translation.
Véroni studied for his doctorate in Greek and Linguistics with Johannes P. Louw at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, graduating in 1982. He studied Missiology under the guidance of David Bosch at the University of South Africa, for which he was awarded a BTh (Hons).
Véroni founded TWFTW in 1981, and has been involved in training Bible translators and Bible translation consultants ever since. He and his wife Martie live in the Western Cape, South Africa, from where they travel extensively for the work of Bible translation.
Dr. Manie van den Heever
International Director of Translation Services
Manie is enthusiastic about Bible translation and enjoys sharing his knowledge and experience with Bible translators from different cultures and countries. He has been involved in Bible translation since 2002, when he started working with the Bible Society of South Africa. In 2008, he joined TWFTW, where he serves as International Director of Translation Consultant Development.
Manie studied African, Modern European and Ancient languages, Biblical Studies, and Theology at undergraduate level. After obtaining an MA in Applied Language Studies, he focused on biblical languages and was awarded a BTh Honours (Biblical Languages) from Potchesfstroom University in 2002 and a PhD (Biblical Hebrew) from Stellenbosch University in 2013.
Manie lives in South Africa with his wife and six children.
Dr. Regine Koroma
Vice-President for Strategic Learning and Development
Regine has been involved in training Bible translators since 1983, first in Europe and since 2005 in Africa, Asia and Europe. She served as TWFTW’s International Director of Training from 2008-2024.
She has a background in General Linguistics, African Studies and Cultural Anthropology and was awarded a PhD in 1994 by the University of Cologne, Germany. She later completed an MA in Contemporary Mission Studies at All Nations Christian College, Ware (UK) in 2014.
She lives in greater London and has two adult children
Dr. Barry Funnell
Director of Consulting Services
Barry trained as a dentist but changed his career to Bible Translation in 1991. He has a 3-year Licentiate in Christian ministries specialising in Bible Translation from Africa School of Missions in South Africa and obtained an MA in Sociolinguistics from the University of South Africa (UNISA).
Barry is TWFTW's Director of Consulting Services coordinating the work of Bible Translation consultants who work with TWFTW. He has worked with more than 40 languages in Africa and Asia and now focuses on training Bible Translation consultants. He is passionate about the Bible and producing quality translations. He has been substantially involved in the completion of the Sena Bible (Malawi) which was published in 2006 and started translation projects in 10 Tanzanian languages. The New Testament was published in these 10 languages in 2016.
Barry lives in Bedford, UK. He is married to Julia and has three children; Lisa, Tim, and Daniel.
Dr. Franklin S. Jabini
Lecturer
Franklin is a lecturer for TWFTW. He studied Biblical Studies (Caribbean College of the Bible, BA/M.Min), Bible Translation (Free University, PG certificate) and Missiology (University of Zululand, D.Th). He published various books and articles in the field of Biblical Studies, Bible Translation and Missiology, with a special interest for Christianity in Suriname.
He and his wife Irene served in full-time Christian ministry since 1988. They have been involved in church-planting, church revitalization and Bible teaching in more than 20 countries.
Franklin is burdened by the lack of theological training among evangelical leaders. He is passionate about training the next generation of leaders for the ministry, that is grounded in a relationship with the Living Christ and a solid understanding of the Word of God.
Pierre van Vuuren (MA)
Regional Director, Europe
Pierre and Lisa Jansen van Vuuren make their home in Sol, Slovakia. They have two children, Elise (20) and Sam (17). In 1997 they started doing evangelism among the Roma in Slovakia, and in 2004 became members of TWFTW.
Pierre pioneered TWFTW Slovakia, where he leads the Carpathian Romani team, who published the New Testament in 2014. The team is now on the cusp of publishing the whole Bible in their mother tongue.
Pierre holds a Licentiate in Christian ministries at Africa School of Missions, a B.Sc. degree and a Diploma in Higher Education at the Free State University, as well as an M.A. in OT Archaeology at Wheaton College (IL, USA). His studies at the Free State University and Wheaton College include the exegesis of OT Hebrew and NT Greek. He has been serving as a lecturer for TWFTW in Biblical Exegesis, Principles of Bible Translation, Theory of Bible Translation, Introduction to NT Greek, Textual Criticism, and Cultural Anthropology.
In his free time Pierre loves to read on Creation Science.
Joel S. Brown (MTh, MSCE)
Consultant-in-Training
Joel is passionate about seeing others thrive, especially in their intellectual and spiritual pursuits. After establishing himself as a talented system engineer and technology trainer (18+ years in IT), he felt called to turn his problem-solving and creative-thinking skills towards Bible translation and community development with The Word for the World. Joel is currently a lecturer and consultant-in-training and engages projects through teaching, curriculum development, technology support, and consultation.
Though Joel studied computer science (University of Colorado, Colorado Springs) and obtained several, related certifications (MCSE, CC, VCP, A+), he only found his true academic love in completing his Diploma in Bible Translation (TWFTW) and BTh:Honours (South African Theological Seminary). He plans to build upon his recent MTh in New Testament (Stellenbosch University, South Africa) by continuing to bridge the gap between theological theory and praxis through PhD research and personnel development work within TWFTW.
As newly adoptive parents, Joel and his wife Lydia are doing their best to keep up with their beautiful and amazing daughter, Mya-Joy, while still pursuing music, art, local church engagement, and serving with several, community-focussed NGOs.
Sofia Ngakarama (MA)
Assistant International Director of Training
Sofia studied Linguistics and Intercultural Communication at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland.. She holds an MA in English and specialised in foreign language teaching for English and Swedish.. She has also completed the Diploma in Bible Translation. She participated in developing the linguistics courses in the DBT and wishes to use her academic skills wherever they are needed.. She is a member of TWFTW Finland and serves as the Assistant International Training Director of TWFTW.
Sofia currently lives in Ethiopia with her husband who is also involved in Bible translation work.
Training Team Northern Africa
Tessema Forsido Gechera (MTh)
Training Director and Bible Translation Consultant, Ethiopia
Tessema is a Bible Translation Consultant and the Training Director for The Word for the World Ethiopia. Previously, he has overseen five Bible Translation projects.
He holds a BTh in Biblical Studies from the Evangelical Theological College and a MTh in the same field from the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology where he won awards for academic excellence.
Tessema is passionate about teaching and consulting. He has almost twenty years of teaching experience at different theological institutes and colleges. He enjoys teaching Biblical courses, Biblical Exegesis, Theology and Biblical Greek.
He is married and has three children.
Tesfaye Bekema (MBA)
Regional Director, North Africa and National Director, Ethiopia
Tesfaye was awarded the Diploma in Bible Translation in 2003. He and his colleagues translated the New Testament into his language Guji (published 2008). He has been involved in exegetical checking of draft translations. As Translation Programme Director he has also overseen the management of 15 translation projects before becoming the TWFTW's National Director of Ethiopia in 2014. In 2015 he completed a Master in Business Administration from the International Institute of Church Management Inc. in Florida. Since 2015, Tesfaye oversees the Northern Africa region.
He is a faculty member of the training team for Ethiopia and has taught a wide variety of subjects (Christian Leadership, Process of Bible Translation, Sociolinguistics, Theory of Translation).
Tesfaye is married and has 5 children.
Tamene Lale Gego (BTh)
Scripture and Evangelism Engagement Director, Ethiopia
Tamene translated the complete Bible into his mother tongue Maale. He has more than three years of experience in exegetical checking and advising translation teams. He currently serves as Project Coordinator and Scripture and Evangelism Engagement Director of Ethiopia.
He received the Diploma in Bible Translation in 2003 and graduated in 2012 from Evangelical Theological College in Addis Ababa with a BTh. He currently undergoes practical training as consultant-in-training.
Tamene is passionate about teaching. He has taught Principles of Bible Translation, Process of Bible Translation, Bible Translation and Mission and Literacy.
He is married and has five children; two sons and three daughters.
Hamesso Yaicob Wayu (BTh)
Exegete and Consultant-in-Training, Ethiopia
Hamesso Yaicob graduated from Dilla Bible College in 1995 and subsequently was the director of Leku Bible School from 1996-1997. He graduated with a BTh from Evangelical Theological College in 2011. From 1998-2014 he translated the Bible into his language Sidama (published 2015).
Yaicob currently works as exegete and coordinator of five translation projects with TWFTW and is a Consultant-in-Training. He also pursues an MA in Biblical Studies at Ethiopian Graduates School of Theology in Addis Ababa.
Yaicob is passionate about teaching the basic principles of Bible translation and related courses in this field.
Hamesso Yaicob is married and has four children.
Simon Zekewos (MA)
Capacity Building Director and Projects Coordinator, Ethiopia
Simon translated the complete Bible into his mother tongue Gofa. He is a team leader and has been involved in many aspects of translation work for the last 14 years - from exegetical work, assisting consultants, manuscript checking and coordinating literacy projects to working as IT support officer. He currently serves as Project Coordinator and in capacity building, and is a Consultant-in-Training.
He holds a Diploma in Biblical Studies, a Diploma in Bible Translation and a B.Th. from the South African Theological College in 2011. In 2019 he earned an MA in Classical Hebrew from the Institute of Biblical Studies and Translation at Corban University in Jerusalem.
Simon loves teaching and has taught a wide variety of subjects (Bible Translation Principles, Cultural Anthropology, Discourse and Translation, Basic Computer Skills, and Software for Translators). He has also translated some training materials into Amharic, the working language of Ethiopia.
Simon is mission-minded and loves working with people. He is married and has five children; four boys, and one daughter.
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National Director, Nigeria
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Training and Literacy Coordinator, Nigeria
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Dari Domnan Dindul (BA)
Translation Project Coordinator and Exegete, Nigeria
Dari Domnan Dindul has a Diploma in Law and a BA in Linguistics and Translation. He has intercultural experience within Nigeria and has taught in churches, Sunday school and secondary school. He speaks Tarok, Hausa and English very well.
Presently, he works full time with Bible Translators of The Word to the World Initiative as a translation as coordinator and exegete. He is passionate about the subjects of Bible Translation Principles, and Discourse and Translation. He would like to study Koine Greek as an area of special interest.
He is a young bachelor and his hobbies are researching, reading, traveling and listening to music.
Isaac Lenglin Litwat (Dip Comp Appl)
Translation Project Coordinator and Exegete, Nigeria
Isaac Lenglin Litwat holds a Diploma in Mass Communication and a Diploma in Computer Application, and is currently studying for a BA in Linguistics and Translation. He has teaching experience in adult literacy and Sunday school. He has served voluntarily as a mother tongue translator with the Tal Bible translation project for three years. He is fluent in Tal, English and Hausa.
Isaac works as a full-time translation coordinator and exegete for TWFTWI Nigeria. He has lived cross-culturally among the Miyawa people in the Bauchi State of Nigeria. He likes teaching translation and linguistics courses. He is interested in continuing his development with TWFTW in the area of translation so that he may become a consultant.
Isaac is married and has two children. He loves to do professional photography.
Joseph Ndahi (MDiv)
Guest Lecturer, Nigeria
Joseph Ndahi is an ordained full-time missionary with over thirty years of experience in cross-cultural settings. His academic qualifications are as follows: a Diploma in Cross-cultural Missions, an Introductory Course in Applied Linguistics, a postgraduate diploma in Theology, an MA in Missions, and an MDiv. He also has training in the field of electrical engineering.
Joseph speaks his mother tongue Bura excellently. He also speaks Hausa and English well and can teach in those languages. He hast taught the course “Mission and Bible Translation and the History of Bible Translation” at the DBT in Nigeria. He is a distinguished guest lecturer and a board member of TWFTWI Nigeria.
Joseph is married to Naomi and has one daughter.
More details to follow soon.
Training Team Southern Africa
Dr. Davies Malembeka
Regional Director Southern Africa
Davies is a pastor, strategist, leadership consultant, and a training solutionist. He is the founder of Global Dominion Ministries Zambia and USA, and the co-founder of Yasanta Consultancy. Through these organisations he facilitates leadership development and strategic planning.
Davies' passion is to transform followers into leaders through forward and strategic thinking. Among others, Davies has undergone Leadership Coaching training with Legacy Leadership Institute, USA. He also holds a doctorate degree in divinity from Miracle Institute, USA. He also recently completed a certificate program in "Christianity Through It's Scriptures" with Harvard University.
Davies is married to Chomba and together they have two beautiful daughters Yasanta Chibwe Malembeka and Chayil Chomba Malembeka.
Davies is married to Chomba and together they have a beautiful daughter Yasanta Chibwe Malembeka.
John Khopaje Mbeyale (BMin)
Training Director Tanzania
John is the Training Director of TWFTW for Tanzania. He holds a Bachelor of Ministry from Mount Meru University and a Diploma in Bible Translation from TWFTW.
As a long-standing Bible school teacher and founder of four Bible schools in the Mbeya region, he first became involved in translating the Bible into his language in 2004 through SIL.
He has been involved with TWFTW since 2010 and serves as Training Director, Exegete and local consultant. He currently pursues an MA in Translation Studies at Africa International University in Nairobi.
His area of special interest is to maximise the impact of the written word – God’s Word as well as other books.
He is blessed with three adult children and loves reading and prayer.
Raymond Seka Bigwa (BTh Hons)
Assistant National Director Tanzania
Raymond holds a BTh Honours from South African Theological Seminary and a Diploma in Bible Translation from The Word for the World. He currently pursues MA studies in Translation Studies at Africa International University in Nairobi.
He has been involved with TWFTW since 2004, first as administrator dealing with church relations and recruiting people setting up Bible translation projects, then as an exegete and later as Projects Coordinator. He now serves as Assistant National Director and local consultant. He is a gifted teacher and passionate about facilitating Bible Translation.
Raymond is married to Elizabeth. God has blessed them with four children and six grandchildren. In his spare time, Raymond loves to preach and teach the Word of God, especially to young people.
Eshinee Veith (MA)
Guest Lecturer
Eshinee is the training coordinator for Lutheran Bible Translators. From 2007-2017 she worked for the Bible Society of Botswana in partnership with Lutheran Bible Translators as project coordinator and exegete for the Wayeyi Bible translation project in Maun, Botswana.
Eshinee obtained a BA in Linguistics from Trinity Western University in 2001 and an MA in Applied Linguistics from the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics in 2010. She has been a guest lecturer at translator trainings in Zambia with TWFTW since 2012.
She and her husband Robert (ethnomusicologist and vernacular media specialist) live in Washington state, USA.
More details to follow soon.
Training Team South Asia
Jacques van As (MA)
Regional Director South Asia
(By Les Chatfield from Brighton, England - Flickr, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1972675)
Jacques loves the diversity that is found in the numerous cultures and languages of the world and is passionate about their preservation and perpetuation for future generations. He enjoys the outdoors and takes pleasure in rugby and cricket. He is also fond of reading good literature, a game of chess and fishing.
Jacques has a Licentiate in Christian Ministries, a Diploma in BT and a MA in Sociolinguistics from UNISA.
Jacques is married with four sons and currently resides in SEA. He is currently the regional director for TWFTW-Asia.
Jeanette van As (Dip ABET, Dip Chr Min)
Lecturer
Jeanette is passionate about communities. She has been working with teams to help them develop reading and writing materials to be used in mother tongue literacy programmes, first in Ethiopia and then in South Asia.
Jeanette has a Diploma in Christian Ministries, a Diploma in Adult Basic Education and Training from UNISA, South Africa and is TESOL qualified. She has been working with TWFTW since 1994.
Jeanette home schooled her four sons and currently lives in South Asia.
More details to follow soon.