American Bible Society

International programs partnering with national bible societies and others, we deliver god's word around the world through our international programs. we bring hope across barriers of geography, language, oppression and injustice. we also are using god's word to bring healing to those wounded by trauma in parts of the world affected by violence. nextgen international abs is convening global leaders in national bible societies to focus their ministry activities on bible engagement with youth and children. this is certainly not a new focus, particularly in the global south where more than 50 percent of the population is below age 25. however, this call is for more intentional joint programmatic activity whereby bible societies share resources and best practices, as well as plan and fund joint programs. abs has partnered with these bible societies - and will continue to do so - to plan, share resources and financially support programs. "read to live" - latin american cluster abs invited national bible societies that share common needs to cluster, creating synergy in project development and implementation. this enabled the program, "read to live," a cluster initiative in latin america among five bible societies (bolivia, chile, ecuador, panam and per), to exchange resources, facilitate planning and share functions. new materials have been developed in spanish, quechua, ngbe and other languages. using these materials to address the issue of domestic violence, this project empowers victims to improve their literacy and thereby better understand what's going on in their lives and take measures to address their problems. domestic violence - caribbean cluster building on the success in latin america, a similar cluster involves the caribbean bible societies (suriname, haiti, netherlands antilles and west indies). as with latin america, the focus is to address domestic violence. to that end, staff and volunteers have partnered with various nonprofit organizations to sensitize their communities. they are also working with children, women and the police to help eradicate domestic violence and bring comfort and hope to victims. west balkan partnership with help from abs, the west balkan partnership of bible societies is reaching out to leaders to encourage bible use in their churches. this partnership also serves as a catalyst through which the bible societies deliver a series of programs that help church members rediscover their passion for god's word and its relevance for today's society. specifically, the "i read the word" campaign is encouraging thousands of people to engage in a 30-day bible reading plan - followed by a 100-day plan - that will lead participants to engage with god's word daily. lebanon in a year marked by turbulent change in the middle east, the bible society of lebanon continued its production of "the bible is yours,"a series of 45-minute episodes broadcast on secular and christian satellite tv across lebanon and the arab world. these programs, featuring testimonies of cultural leaders and discussion of current topics, are geared especially for young people. additionally, the bible society again broadcast the docudrama, "a year of the bible," on christmas eve and christmas day. combined, theses productions reached millions of viewers. cambodia and laos these countries form part of our outreach to the indochina region. our intent is to reach those under age 25. youth programs, such as concerts, bible sunday and age-appropriate scripture materials, have been provided to approximately 25,000 young people in both countries in the past year. china abs values the privilege of working with the chinese church and other organizations that align with the commitment to provide bibles and scripture resources, as well as equipping leaders for ministry to millions of believers in china. this past year, we have stepped up our efforts to work with the church to provide sunday school materials for the children who come to church. chil