On January 8, 2020 Siphiwe Baleka, a founding members of the Balanta B'urassa Language Preservation Society in America (BBLPSIA) will travel to Guinea Bissau in West Africa to meet with the Balanta (B'rassa) people. The purpose of this campaign is to enable him to bring 100 Balanta - English Vocabulary Books to deliver to the Balanta children that live in isolated areas and do not have access to books in their own language. The cost of 100 books, which was produced and published by BBLPSIA, is $833. An additional $500 is being requested to purchase a laptop for the BBLPSIA representative in Guinea Bissau and the remaining $167 is to cover miscellaneous expenses during the ten day trip. <a href="http://thebp.site/212920" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Purchase the book</a>  BACKGROUND This program began in July 2014, when Richard Curtiss II, an  African American, discovered his Balanta ancestry through DNA testing and traveled to Guinea Bissau to reconnect with the Balanta community. There he received the name “Ngadesa Tchokmon”. In March of 2015, he uploaded the first of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtAQXkUwAZA&amp;t=306s" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Balanta Homecoming videos</a>  onto YouTube and served as a consultant to the Balanta community in the United States. On October 24, 2018 Sansau “Malik” Tchimna uploaded the Balanta Language Lesson #1 Greetings video to YouTube. There are now 6 language video lessons on the <a href="https://www.balanta.org/language-lessons" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.balanta.org</a>  website. In March of 2019, using the Balanta networks established by Ngadesa Tchokmon, Sansau Malik Tchimna traveled to Guinea Bissau and began filming his documentary of the Balanta people. <iframe media_type="0" media_id="Denrdar5IUk" class="youtube-replace" title="YouTube video player" style="margin-bottom:20px;width:560px;height:315px;" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Denrdar5IUk/?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="1"></iframe> On August 19, 2018 Ngadesa Tchokmon transitioned to the Ancestral Realm. Before he left, he told the Balanta community in Guinea Bissau that many more Balanta are coming to return home and to “get ready”. To continue his legacy, Sansau Tchimna and Siphiwe Baleka started working together in September 2019 and created the Balanta B’urassa History and Genealogy Society in America (BBHAGSIA) and the Balanta B’urassa Language Preservation Society in America (BBLPSIA). HISTORY From 1668 to 1829, 145,000 people were shipped from the slave trading port at St. Louis, Senegal. From 1668 to 1843, 126,000 people were shipped from the slave trading port of Bissau on the coast of modern-day Guinea Bissau, West Africa. These are the lands were Balanta people were living. From these two slave trading ports, 6,400 people were brought to the Gulf Coast, 10,000 people were brought to the port at Charleston, South Carolina, 4,500 people were brought to Chesapeake, and 1,400 people were brought to New York. In addition, 85,800 people were brought to the Islands of the West Indies. If you are a Balanta descendant living in America today (estimated at 30,000), the most likely scenario is that your Balanta ancestor was one of those people and spoke Balanta-Kentohe or Balanta-Ganja. Balanta is now generally divided into two distinct languages; Balanta-Kentohe and Balanta-Ganja. Other subgroups include Petch, Nhacra, Naga, Sofa, and Brassa as well as various dialects. The Balanta-Kentohe language is spoken by a total of 423,000 people on the north central and central coast of Guinea-Bissau (where as of 2006 it is spoken by 397,000 people, many of which can be found in the Oio Region) as well as in the Gambia. Balanta-Ganja is spoken by 86,000 people (as of 2006) in the southwest corner of and the south of Senegal. Literacy is less than 1% for Balanta-Ganja. In September 2000, Balanta-Ganja was granted the status of a national language in Senegal, and as of then can now be taught in elementary school. The Balanta B’urassa Language Preservation Society in America (BBLPSIA) The Balanta B’urassa Language Preservation Society in America (BBLPSIA) is organized and operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes, including the study, teaching and preservation of Balanta B’urassa languages, under section 501c (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. BBLPSIA received its charter from the state of Missouri on November 12, 2019. The aims and objectives of BBLPSIA, enshrined in its by-laws are 1. To encourage descendants of the Balanta B’urassa in America to learn the Balanta B’urassa languages (Balanta-Kentohe and Balanta-Ganja). 2. To emphasize the value and importance of speaking the Balanta B’urassa languages to future generations. 3. To educate the community through outreach seminars and workshops to acknowledge the rich cultural heritage contained in the language of Balanta B’urassa people. 4. To develop, recognize, transcribe, create, produce and publish educational materials on Balanta B’urassa languages. 5. To produce school curriculum materials in the Balanta B’urassa languages and provide them free of charge to Balanta communities in Guinea Bissau and America. To achieve these in 2020, BBLPSIA is developing a complete Balanta Language Curriculum that can be used by school systems both in America and in Guinea Bissau. BBLPSIA is also engaged in translating the all three volumes of the first ever Balanta World History textbooks that BBHAGSIA published earlier in the year. The total budget for the full 2020 Development program is $100,441. This campaign, therefore, is just a small part of the BBLPSIA work for 2020. BBLPSIA has applied for assistance through the Foundation for Endangered Languages funding stream for this project. BBLPSIA members have already paid for all the travel expenses.  PLEASE HELP US DELIVER THE BOOKS BY DONATING TODAY!

Siphiwe Ka Baleka

Sânsáu Tchímna

Joseph  Myers 

Anonymous

Secoya  Allen

Keith  Rushing 

Katherine  Carter 

Kevin Collins

Nicole Vaden

Stephanie  Johnson

Ayé Jarenda Williams

Gloria Caples

Dalvin Solomon

Katie Michel

Aye Williams

Erica  Marshall 

Melisa  Walls 

Balanta Language Preservation 2020 Program

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