Our Mission

In 2020, Jan & Bryson Garbett wondered how they could help the indigenous people joining the Church of Jesus Christ of LatterDay Saints in Los Altos of Chiapas, Mexico, learn about the Book of Mormon.

Having done humanitarian work in Mexico for over twenty years they were still surprised to learn how a people could remain isolated from the very country and culture they lived in. Such was the case with the Tseltal speakers of Mayan descent who spoke a language separating them from the rest of the country. How can a people remain hidden but be in plain sight? Language.

1st Draft is all about bridging that culture and language gap differently than most organizations. We want to respond to their questions, their wants and needs in their own language. We can accomplish this faster with their help. 

Strategy

Various obstacles stand in the way of sharing the Book of Mormon with all the world, such as a lack of translated materials and illiteracy. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is continually translating the Book of Mormon into various languages, but the process takes years. We knew the videos about the Book of Mormon could also carry its message. If we could dub the videos, their message and story could come alive for those seeking to understand it.

To perform this work without over-reaching 1st Draft Academy developed a threefold strategy:

  1. Provide preliminary translation experience for translators of less frequent target languages.

  2. Provide preliminary translated materials in less frequent target languages.

  3. Provide preliminary experiences with sharing or performing translated materials in non-commercial, non-church capacities.

hermana.jpg
hermanasIglesia.jpg
losAltos.jpg
losAltos6.jpg
losAltos8.jpg
sanCristobal.jpg

Partners

We collaborate with others on the forefront of serving the needs and wants of lower resource language speakers . Some of our partners include:

Pathsay and ToAll BYU AI labs - gathering language samples and dubbing voices to videos.

Interweave Solutions - self reliance classes in their own language for literacy and business success.

Make a donation

Support our mission by contributing today.