Latest News #300 – Côte d’Ivoire
February 3, 2005

The following news concerns Côte d’Ivoire.

Mass distribution effort targets Abidjan concert-goers

A member of the team from the Bible Society of Côte d'Ivoire distributing copies of the Selection Help in Distress outside the stadium in Abidjan at which at the Peace and Unity Concert took place on January 1, 2005. Photo: BSCTI (CTI05DJ-1.JPG)

CÔTE D'IVOIRE — Amid the uneasy peace that has settled on Côte d'Ivoire, the Bible Society, though its work remains hampered, is managing to minister in a number of different ways to people seeking comfort and guidance. Most recently, it was able to undertake a mass distribution of a special Selection aimed at those affected by the civil conflict.

It is now more than two years since war broke out in Côte d'Ivoire. Although fighting has ceased, there are still no signs of a permanent peace settlement between the rebel-held north and the government-controlled south. For ordinary people, then, this continues to be a time of fear and worry.

Late last year, the Bible Society reprinted 500,000 copies of the Selection Help in Distress, which was first distributed in 2003 to people displaced by the war and, according to reports from church leaders, has proved very popular. This time, the Society decided to distribute around 100,000 copies at once to people attending the Peace and Unity concert which took place at the Félix Houphouët Boigny stadium in Abidjan on January 1. This concert, an initiative of President Laurent Gbagbo, was aimed particularly at soldiers, young people and women. Some political and administrative leaders who were also present each received a copy of Help in Distress too.

Jean Kouassi, General Secretary of the Bible Society of Côte d'Ivoire, distributing copies of the Selection Help in Distress to people queuing to attend the Peace and Unity Concert that took place in Abidjan on January 1, 2005. Photo: BSCTI (CTI05DJ-2.JPG)

The other 400,000 copies were despatched to towns in inland areas. In those which are under government control, Bible Society staff were able to take responsibility for distributing them, while local clergy acted as distributors in towns occupied by rebel forces.