Construction Work Wey We Finish Before Disease Start to Spread

We need more and more buildings for worship as plenty new people de baptize every year. Because of this one, Local Design/Construction Departments for different part of the world plan say for the 2020 service year, they go build or repair more than 2,700 different buildings wey we de use for worship.a

E pain us say the COVID-19 disease wey start to spread affect this plan. To obey government laws and to protect our brothers and sisters, Publishing Committee of the Governing Body stop almost all our construction projects around the world. But even with that one, for the 2020 service year, before the disease start to spread, we don already build and repair more than 1,700 different buildings for worship. We don still finish more than 100 big branch projects. See how two of this projects wey we finish don help our brothers.

Cameroon branch. The former branch office for the city of Douala dey too small and many things dey for the building wey they need to change. The Publishing Committee think-am say make they repair the building, but the amount of money wey they go use to repair the building plenty pass how much the building e self cost. They still check to see whether they go fit build for new land or buy new building and repair-am, but e no work.

For that same period, the brothers come hear say for the north side of Douala, local government want build one road near one of our Assembly Halls. This road go really help make e dey easy for people to reach the place and to fit get things for the area no go hard. This na exactly wetin the branch office need. So Governing Body approve-am say make they start to build new branch office for the part wey e remain for the Assembly Hall land.

Brothers and sisters and people from other company wey they pay, do the work together. This arrangement help to save time and money. Infact, when the project finish, we see say the money wey we be think say we go spend no finish. E still remain more than 1 billion francs or 720 million naira! The Bethel family don even pack enter the new branch building small time before the COVID-19 disease start to spread.

Now, the Bethelites for Cameroon de live fine and de enjoy their work pass before. They see this new branch as gift from Jehovah. One husband and wife talk say, “We just want de work even more and show say we really value this gift.”

Tojolabal Remote Translation Office (RTO), Mexico. For many years, the Tojolabal translation team de do their work for the Central America branch office, near Mexico City. But na only for Altamirano and Las Margaritas them de talk Tojolabal language. That area far from the branch office reach almost 1,000 kilometers (620 miles)! Because of this one, after some time, e hard for the translators to really follow the way their language de change with time, since they no de live for area wey them de talk the language. And the branch de always struggle to find brothers and sisters wey de live near them to come help the translation team do audio recordings.

Na this one make the Writing Committee of the Governing Body think-am say make they move the translation team go the area wey them de speak their language – Tojolabal language. To fit do this one, the branch office decide to buy new building and repair-am. This one go help them save more money pass to rent place for them or to build new translation office.

One translator explain how this arrangement don help-am. E say: “I don work as translator for the branch office for ten years, and for all this time, I no ever see one single family for the area wey de talk my language. Now our office dey for the main area wey people de talk Tojolabal language. I de talk with people for the language every day. This one don really help me sabi new words for the language and do my work better.”

Projects for the 2021 Service Year

For the 2021 service year, if we go fit, we go work on 75 RTOs and Bible school buildings. We go continue work for eight big branch projects, plus the new world headquarters project for Ramapo, New York, and we go move the Argentina and Italy branch office go new place. We still need more than 1,000 new Kingdom Halls, more than 6,000 of the buildings wey we de use for meeting now no too good and we need to change-am, and another 4,000 Kingdom Halls dey wey need repairs.

How we de get money to do all this big repair work and build new buildings? Brother Lázaro González na one of the Central America Branch Committee member. E answer this question when e de talk about the project of the Tojolabal Remote Translation Office. E say, “For our branch territory, we no really get plenty money. So if no be say our brothers and sisters for other countries no de support us, e no fit dey possible for us to build translation office for our brothers and sisters wey de talk other languages. The money wey brothers and sisters don contribute all around the world don help the translators to fit move go the area wey people de talk their language. We thank our brothers and sisters for the whole world for the way them de open hand to give.” Yes, all this construction project dey possible because of wuna contributions to support the work wey we de do for the whole world, and we de get many of this contributions for donate.jw.org.