BBT Africa at Work
By Mukundaghri Dasa
Africa is “young and growing,” the Economist magazine says. With its abundant mineral resources, growing population, swelling market, and emerging workforce, Africa is a dormant giant waiting to rise. But the significance of the ascent of material prospects for Africa can never compare with the significance of the rise of Krsna consciousness on the continent. The moon of spiritual knowledge in Srila Prabhupada’s books eclipses all other prospects no matter how effulgent they seem. His books are a gateway to understanding the self and to the treasure of love of God.
The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Africa (BBT Africa) was established in February 2010 to present Srila Prabhupada's books to the people of Africa. It has published books in English, French, Swahili, Zulu, Xhosa, Setswana, and Afrikaans. It has produced fourteen translations of various books in six languages, with another eight books in the pipeline, including translations in Amharic, Sotho, and Chichewa.
BBT Africa’s head office is in Johannesburg, and it has ambassadors in Ghana, Togo, Kenya, Malawi, Botswana, Nigeria, Mauritius, Ivory Coast, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Other Projects
Together with this established method of outreach, BBT Africa has embarked on forays into academic discourse and social transformation. The Annual Bhaktivedanta Swami Lecture is BBT Africa’s hallmark event. Since 2013, BBT Africa has staged an academic lecture at the University of Witwatersrand to profile Srila Prabhupada's life and teachings. Speakers discuss global issues from the vantage of Vedic knowledge.
To effect social transformation, BBT Africa strives to increase access to Srila Prabhupada's books. Every year the Shastra-Dana program places hundreds of books in libraries across the continent. Prisons, schools, hospitals, and universities have all been touched by this wave of distribution.
The Annual BBT Africa Conference aims to inspire greater efforts in book distribution. For five years, temple leaders and book distributors have met to evaluate the progress of book distribution in Africa.
The African Audience
Africa boasts more than 2,100 languages, and its cultures are just as diverse. This poses a challenge for BBT Africa: What languages are to be tackled first? What reach will they have? Are the books sensitive to cultural sentiment yet still true to the author’s intent? To answer these questions and others requires a careful understanding of the African audience.
Africans have an appetite for the teachings of Vedic culture. While deeply entrenched cultural norms make them somewhat conservative, they usually respond to the books and other outreach activities with joy and open-mindedness. Africans from different cultural and religious backgrounds appreciate the nonsectarian spiritual message in Srila Prabhupada’s books.
A Mainstream Publisher
BBT Africa is an official member of the Publishing Association of South Africa. In the publishing industry, PASA membership gives BBT recognition for its unique position as the world’s largest publisher of Vedic literature. And that recognition opens doors to new markets, and thus to souls yet to read the message of Krsna consciousness.
Mukundaghri Dasa is BBT Africa's manager for strategy and innovation.
Durban, South Africa, City Hall