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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Waata of Kenya

The Waata of Kenya, numbering approximately 22,500 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an Oromo-speaking Indigenous ethnic group in Kenya, historically known as hunter-gatherers and archers and can also be known as Sanye, Watha, Waat, Aryangulo, Waata Oromo. They are an Indigenous people, in the Khoisan people cluster of the Sub-Saharan African affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Waata.

Waata in Kenya photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Anonymous

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Kenya
People Cluster: Khoisan
Primary Language(s): Waata (ssn)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 22,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG014855
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Waata of Kenya

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Waata
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

%
Waata Speakers

Media Resources in Waata:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Waata:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Waata bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Waata

The Waata are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Waata

The Waata are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the Waata

The Waata are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Waata of Kenya

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
readColossians 3:5-6

Pray for God to have mercy and give those who don't yet know Him the gift of Jesus and His salvation for all who call upon His name.

And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
readLuke 7:50

Pray for the good news of Jesus Christ to reach many so that they can place their faith in Him and have lasting hope.

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
readHebrews 10:35

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will hold unswervingly to their faith and to their confidence in Christ, which has a great reward.

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
readMatthew 7:28-29

Pray that God will remind believers that they have His authority as they share His truth with the lost, and pray He will draw crowds of people to this message and plant it deeply in their hearts.

Waata (ROP3 - 108687) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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