Reaching Pygmies With Bible Truth

BY AWAKE! WRITER IN CAMEROON

In more than 230 lands throughout the world, Jehovah’s Witnesses try to reach “all sorts of men” with the message of God’s Kingdom. (1 Timothy 2:4; Matthew 24:14) Included among these are African Pygmies, a small people who average between four and four and a half feet [1.2 and 1.4 m] in height. These live principally in the deep forests of the Central African Republic, the Congo region, and southeastern Cameroon.

The first recorded encounter between Pygmies and visitors occurred when Egyptian Pharaoh Neferirkare sent an expedition to find the source of the Nile River. In the forests of interior Africa, the expedition reported encountering people of short stature. The later Greek writer Homer and the philosopher Aristotle both mention Pygmies. Europeans came in contact with these people in the 16th and 17th centuries.

In modern times Jehovah’s Witnesses have been preaching in the forests of Africa. Although Pygmies have responded to the Kingdom message, efforts to follow up interest among them has for the most part been unsuccessful. This is because of the Pygmies’ migratory way of life​—moving from place to place every couple of months or so.

Pygmies are known to be a peaceable, timid people, with an estimated population in Africa of between 150,000 and 300,000. Governments, international organizations, and churches have built schools especially for their use, along with small houses to fit their life-style. Yet, the many attempts to entice them to settle in one place have largely been unsuccessful.

A notable exception in Cameroon is Janvier Mbaki, the first Pygmy known to have become a Witness here. He accepted the Bible’s message after reading the illustrated book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, as well as other publications. * In the year 2002, Janvier was baptized, and he is now serving as a pioneer, as Jehovah’s Witnesses call their full-time evangelizers. He is also a ministerial servant in the Christian congregation he is part of in Mbang, a small town in the southeastern part of the country. The future will tell if more Pygmies in Cameroon choose to worship Jehovah, the only true God, who loves “all sorts of men.”

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[Picture on page 24]

Janvier Mbaki​—the first Pygmy in Cameroon known to have become a Witness—​sharing in the ministry