A Voice of Hope (Low German)
“For awhile I was not sure what I should do about producing more programs,” writes Joyce Dyck, Canadian producer of Women of Hope in Low German. “Then while I was on a trip, I met women who have been ministering to other women in Bolivia.”
That summer, shocking allegations had come out of a Low German-speaking Mennonite colony in Bolivia. According to BBC News*, seven members of the colony were detained over the alleged rape of 60 women, some as young as fourteen-years old.
Tight-knit and built on strict traditions, the Old Order Mennonite colonies in Bolivia are isolated and their affairs kept intensely private. When these allegations emerged, it shook the colony leaders, leaving uncertainty about how to handle both the perpetrators and the victims. One woman was raped while pregnant and almost lost her baby. Younger victims feared that they would be unable to find husbands in the future.
When Joyce heard about this tragedy, she wanted to minister to the victims through Women of Hope, which was already on the air in Bolivia. But the sensitive subjects she wanted to present – rape, incest, abortion and domestic violence – could not be presented over the air.
The missionaries Joyce spoke to came upon a solution. “They thought it would be helpful for them if they could give CDs on the topics to women and girls. It can be done privately and listened to when suitable. That had occurred to me before, but now it seemed like confirmation.”
Joyce writes of the ministry in Bolivia, “There is openness like never before, but much prayer is needed so that the Lord will open the hearts of many to the truth and give them new hope. Let us praise the Lord together for allowing us to have a voice of hope.”
Learn more about Low German Producer, Joyce Dyck; read a June 2010 Q&A with her here.
Click here to read more about TWR’s radio outreach to Bolivian Mennonites.
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