Guinea, sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from neighboring Guinea-Bissau or Equatorial Guinea, lies on the coast of West Africa and is characterized by coastal plain and a sparsely populated mountainous interior.
Of its 48 people groups, Guinea’s three largest ethnic groups are the Fulani (33 percent), the Malinke (29 percent), and the Susu (21 percent). The people of Guinea are predominately Muslim—over 88 percent adhere to the religion, although animistic elements are often mixed into their beliefs. With nearly 87 percent of the population unreached, much gospel work remains.
Although the country is rich in natural resources such as bauxite (used to make aluminum) and iron ore, it is one of Africa’s poorer countries. It only recently transitioned to democracy in 2010 after a history of Muslim-Marxist rule. Its economy is slowly improving, but ethnic and political conflict, corruption, crumbling infrastructure, and most recently, the Ebola outbreak in 2014, have impeded progress. Currently only 30 percent of the population are literate, and most are engaged in agriculture. Children under the age of 14 make up over 40 percent of the population, and sadly, around 18 percent of very young children are underweight.
In response to the spiritual and physical needs of their country, missionaries from a native church-planting ministry are reaching out to Muslim communities each week with the gospel of Jesus Christ and compassionate care for the poor and needy.
Working primarily among the Fulani, Malinke and Susu people, ministry workers share the gospel through one-on-one conversations, gospel films, and evangelistic events. As people from these communities respond to the gospel, the ministry plants churches and begins training believers for church leadership through their Bible school.
Political tensions and labor strikes have created difficulties for the ministry, which requests assistance to purchase plots of land and metal roofing for church buildings. Many of the village congregations are making their own bricks for church buildings but lack these roofing materials. The ministry also requests help for evangelistic tools such as portable generators and projectors to show gospel films. Lastly, in order to provide stability for their gospel workers, they wish to start microenterprise projects.
Sources: Joshua Project, CIA World Factbook, Operation World, U.S. Department of State
