Mondou

Mondou, whose friends call him Jean, was born into a modest family of six children of which he is the eldest. He lives and does ministry in Grand-Bassam, Côte d'Ivoire. Due to extreme poverty, he has lacked parental support and has had to live apart from his family multiple times over his lifetime just to have his basic needs met. Although Jean has performed well in his studies over the years, he has had to abandon them repeatedly to help support his family.

Jean met Jesus in the hospital as a teenager when he was in an accident but was without the means to pay for his necessary medical care. He was saved by a doctor who didn't know him and took upon himself the burden of his medical expenses. This act of kindness compelled him to seek after God in a new way. Later, he learned about Young Life from one of his church leaders. Jean shares, “Young Life became a comfort to me and the source of my strength to continue my studies. Now as a leader, I want to be equipped to open a new club to share the hope of God with more teens in my community.”

Jean’s vision for the future is to honor the goodwill that has been poured out to him by being diligent in his studies in accounting at Intellect Afrique University. As a recipient of the Developing Global Leaders scholarship, Jean is able to fulfill his dream of a higher education in accounting in order to acquire a stable job to take care of his family and people like himself who will need help.