She travelled by truck, motorbike and horse to check on Bible translations in Papua New Guinea: Caleb Award hero Kwan Poh San
When Wycliffe Bible translator, Kwan Poh San, set out to translate the Bible for the people of Papua New Guinea, she did not do it from a computer at her comfortable home in Singapore.
She moved – lock, stock and barrel – to Papua New Guinea where she lived among the locals for 20 years to learn their culture and vernacular so that she could translate the Gospel as faithfully as possible.
No road to check on the translations? No problem.
Poh San travelled by bus, truck, train, plane, motorbike and horse to do her translation work.
For her courage, dedication and faithfulness, Poh San won the Caleb Award at this year’s Salt&Light Inspiration Awards.
“Outdo one another in honour”
The Caleb Award celebrates seniors, 65 years and above, who actively contribute to their communities in godly pursuits, serving as role models for the generations.
This award is part of the 2026 Salt&Light Inspiration Awards, which includes the categories of:
Social Impact Award
Stories of Hope and 还好吗hhm.sg Evangelism Award
Missions Impact Award
Marketplace Impact Award
Caleb Award (Age 65 and above)
Thir.st Youth Inspiration Award (Age 25 and below)
2026 Salt&Light Inspiration Award
While we worship no one but Jesus, the Bible tells us to outdo one another in honour. (Romans 12:10)
These awards seek to do just that – to recognise heroes of faith who labour in obedience to God and love for the community, and to invite support for their ministries.
At this year’s Salt&Light Inspiration Awards, Poh San was recognised for her faithful dedication and for inspiring different generations to answer God’s call at any age.
Her story started at age 13
At 82, Poh San has spent more than half her life, or 45 years, dedicated to the mission field as a Wycliffe Bible translator. It started when she was 13 and raised her hand at an altar call in her mission school, to the objection of her parents who were from another religion.
Poh San lived among the locals in Papua New Guinea (PNG), soaking up their culture to better translate God’s Word into their vernacular.
She travelled by bus, truck, train, plane, motorbike and horse to check on translations. Once in a storm, she saw Jesus standing over her radio antenna, protecting it and her house from lightning.
After 18 years, she managed to translate the entire New Testament into Mauwake, one of more than 800 languages in PNG. She also conducted literacy classes so the locals could read the Bible.
Upon retiring as a translator, she became a translation consultant for the next 20 years.
How did you get started?
Bible translation was a specific calling from God when I was studying in Bible college in 1974. As I was doing linguistic training in Sydney, the Lord further confirmed that my field of work was to be in PNG and provided a teammate, Liisa Jarvinen. We had 24 years of God-guided ministry.
What makes you do what you do?
God has gifted me with a talent of learning languages easily, and a deep interest in language dynamics. It was His will for me to use that and my interest in anthropology and cultures for His work of Bible translation, so that the Bible-less peoples of the world would hear His Word and be saved.
How have you seen God in the journey?
Bible translation is a very demanding ministry, requiring translators to learn local languages, how the languages interact with cultures and make the words and phrases convey God’s Word. As translators work, they grow in faith and understanding of God’s Word, and they become village Bible teachers and evangelists.
To see the tears and softened hearts of people when they hear God speaking to them in their languages was worth all the hard work. God’s Spirit works through His Word.
What are your hopes for this ministry?
I pray that many more will love the Bible-less peoples of the world. And that experienced translators will avail themselves to be trained as consultants to help make good translations.
(Catch the winners of the other 2026 Salt&Light Inspiration Award categories here all this week.)
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