Contact: Primus Hutchinson

October 12, 1999 - A kweyol version of the New Testament was officially launched at the Castries Comprehensive Secondary School last Sunday. The project which took fifteen years to complete at a cost of one million US dollars was an initiative of the Summer Institute of Linguistics. Dr. David Frank, the project co-ordinator, expressed his gratitude to the many locals who contributed to the success of the project especially the input by St. Lucia’s Governor General, Dame Pearlette Louisy. Dr. Frank said the Governor General who was at the time the Principal of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College assisted their efforts significantly, providing much guidance in the proper usage of the Kweyol language.

The Minister with responsibility for Ecclesiastical Affairs, the Honourable Damian Greaves, said the launching of the Kweyol New Testament is of Christian and historical significance. The Minister stated that it is encouraging to see that a language, which had little respect in, the past come to full maturity on this particular occasion.

St. Lucia’s Governor General, Dame Pearlette Louisy commended the innovators for their dedication and commitment to the project. Five thousand copies of the St. Lucian Kweyol New Testament, Testeman Nef La, are already available locally.