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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Saho of Eritrea

The Saho of Eritrea, numbering approximately 168,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an ethnic group inhabiting the mountainous Irobland, primarily in northeastern Tigray, Ethiopia, with a smaller population across the Eritrean border . They are an Indigenous people, in the Afar-Saho people cluster of the Horn of Africa affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Saho.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Eduardo Araia

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Northern African and Middle Eastern Peoples
Country: Eritrea
People Cluster: Afar-Saho
Primary Language(s): Saho (ssy)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 168,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011532

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Pray for the Saho of Eritrea

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Saho
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

%
Saho Speakers

Media Resources in Saho:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Saho:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

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Next steps for the Saho

The Saho 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 Saho

The Saho 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 Saho

The Saho 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 Saho of Eritrea

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRom 6:23

Pray that those who haven't heard yet will hear and believe that the wages of their sin†is†death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
readPsalm 146:9

Pray for God to watch over people, wherever they are, and cause them to meet believers who will share the gospel with them clearly and lovingly.

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
readGenesis 50:20

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will forgive those who do them harm and trust God as they walk in His ways.

Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!
readPsalm 34:3

Pray that God will raise up believers who will go to those in this people group who do not yet follow Jesus, and that they will invite many to magnify the Lord with them so that His fame will spread to the ends of the earth.

Saho reported in the following countries (ROP3):

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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