Project End Year: 2014




The Vidunda people’s ancestral land lies in the foothills between two mountains of Tanzania. On the north, Mikumi National Park borders their homeland. In the past, sugar planters gradually usurped the plains, forcing the Vidunda people into the mountains. During WWII, enemy soldiers massacred large numbers of Vidunda speakers who were hiding in a cave. In recent years, government officials have forbidden farming on top of the mountain. This history of exploitation and abuse has made the Vidunda people very wary of outsiders.

In this language group, more than 60 percent affiliate with Christianity. However, most still fear witchcraft and engage in many kinds of animistic rituals along with their non-believing neighbors. Many Christians still hang amulets on their children to protect them from evil spirits and curses. Because they’ve been hearing Scripture in a language foreign to them, most Vidunda people have little idea what it actually teaches.

The majority of Vidunda speakers still live in fear of spirits rather than experiencing the redemption and freedom they could know in Christ. Non-Christians can’t see much victory or joy in the lives of believers. The Scriptures in their mother tongue will offer believers tools for deliverance from the bondage of fear. It will also support personal spiritual growth and provide a solid foundation from which to reach out to others.