Mission to Youth & Students: New Life Band is an interdenominational ministry for youth and students in Tanzania that serves as an instrument to transform the lives of youth and students by giving them hope and opportunity by knowing that they are loved.

The Mission to Youth and Students was started in 1976 by Fortunatus Mabondo (Ondo) at the age of 15. He recognized the need to help and give hope to the youth and students that were involved in destructive activities (i.e. gangs, alcohol abuse, drug usage, sexual abuse, etc.). It was apparent that they were ruining their lives which could destroy the future of Tanzania.

Mabondo, together with Adamson, a missionary from England, started a ministry for the youth of Tanzania.

The ministry included personal witnessing and Christian films. Adamson returned to England. Mabondo then continued the ministry with the help of several part-time people.

In 1981, Mabondo went to England and learned how to organize and implement youth activities. Following this education abroad, he formed the New Life Band with the sole purpose of ministering to the youth of Tanzania.

In a short time, the band became very popular and invitations came pouring in from schools and churches across Tanzania.

The ministry was then expanded to include guitar concerts, gospel rallies, drama and open air crusades.

New life Band Ministry

Over the past 25 years, the New Life Band, Mission to Youth and Students, has developed an active and vibrant ministry to youth and students, primarily teenagers, in Tanzania through school visitations, national youth camps and conferences, outdoor Christian rallies, concerts and performances, and one-on-one counseling and guidance. Their ministry has been deeply committed to reaching out to help today's youth of Tanzania caught up in an atmosphere of poverty, unemployment, substance abuse, and lack of direction for their lives. Their Mission to Youth and Students serves young people spiritually, physically and mentally through their wide range of programs and activities.

Their work has been truly impressive. More than 1,000 young people typically attend their youth camps, held two or more times per year. They are able to reach more than 600,000 people each year through concerts and outdoor rallies. They are extremely talented musicians, easily able to reach out to people through their wide range of music, from traditional African drum rhythms, close harmonies, to modern western style instruments with an African flare. They have been to the USA and the UK every three years since the mid 1990's, where they have offered concerts, discussions of their ministries, and cultural exchange programs to share their work and their talents and to develop support for their ministries in Tanzania.

 
School

A dream come true is the start of construction of their Secondary School and Vocational Training Center on their beautiful 20-acre site with a view of the nearby 16,000-foot Mt Meru near Arusha Tanzania. This school will be a much needed place where young people (particularly young girls) can further their education and be trained in various vocational skills. When the school is completed, they expect to be able to accommodate some 450 students.

 
Asante Sana!

You are invited to support these dreams that will help thousands of Tanzanian youth spiritually as well as economically. It is life's greatest privilege to be a part of reaching others spiritually by sharing the Gospel.