SmartDraw Helps Missionary Cross the Language Barrier, Communicate with Tribal People

Geff Harada is a missionary who works with tribal people in remote mountain regions of the Philippines. He works as a "Church Planter" for New Tribes Mission, an organization that trains and equips missionaries to start churches in tribal locations. His responsibilities range from teaching tribal people biblical doctrines to educating them on health issues—all in their native language.

Geff needed an easy way to create educational materials for the tribal people. "I needed to draw a huge timeline, which required me to use a lot of symbols," said Geff. "I also needed to create many symbols myself because I was dealing with a tribal culture, and needed symbols they could recognize."

He had experience with CorelDraw, but wanted something easier. He found SmartDraw online and knew it was a good fit.

"SmartDraw allowed me to make my own symbols and save them to use again and again," said Geff. "To my knowledge, no other product does this."

Although he had no graphic design experience to speak of, Geff was able to quickly produce an eye-catching timeline depicting biblical history—over 16 feet long. "SmartDraw is a superior product when it comes to creating diagrams requiring lengthy timelines with picture graphics," said Geff.

Unlike other graphics programs that provide users with a blank screen and expect them to draw, with SmartDraw, users select from a template that is specifically designed to create the type of illustration they need. For example, SmartDraw contains dozens of SmartTemplates for timelines, mindmaps, and other charts.

After selecting the appropriate template, users simply enter the information and SmartDraw does the rest: building the graphic automatically using built-in rules and professional design themes to guarantee polished, presentation-quality results in just a few minutes. In addition, SmartDraw features one-click export to popular document types such as PDF, JPEG and PowerPoint^®, making it easy to share SmartDraw creations with others.

"The diagrams I have created in SmartDraw have received lots of positive attention," said Geff. "I recommend SmartDraw to anyone who wants to communicate quickly, efficiently, and creatively."

Geff says the best part about discovering SmartDraw is that it allows him to communicate on a whole new level.

"The program has really helped me streamline the process of making timelines and other educational materials for the tribal people," said Geff. "It has allowed me to communicate in a whole new way, which I never would have attempted before."

To download a free trial, visit www.smartdraw.com.