NAME: FredrickSTUDYING: International Relations/Economics
WHERE: University of Witwatersrand, Republic of South Africa
Fredrick was introduced to us by Gawain Wells, am emeritus professor of psychology at BYU/Provo and currently serving as a senior missionary in Johannesburg. Fredrick was born in Nairobi, Kenya. When his mother and her children learned about the LDS Church, most of them joined quickly, but Fredrick was at the time involved with a rough crowd of boys and deeply involved in Kenyan athletics, particularly soccer. When he became serious about studying the Church, however, it changed his life from a leader among rowdy adolescents to one who desires to lead others to Christ. He gave up promising opportunities for a career in soccer to serve a full-time mission in the South Africa Johannesburg mission. Following an outstanding mission, he returned to South Africa to court and marry a young woman he met briefly as a missionary. He and his wife, Olga, are raising a daughter from her previous marriage.
Fredrick and Olga live in the township of Tembisa, twenty minutes outside of Johannesburg. Poverty is a given and almost no families eat three meals a day. Recently it was learned they were down to eating bread and herbal tea. Although he has a worker’s permit, Fredrick is still locked out of many jobs because he is Kenyan, not South African. The LDS Perpetual Education Fund has assisted Fredrick with funds to complete several college computer courses, enabling him to work for short periods of time or pick up computer repair jobs.
In many ways, Fredrick is the backbone of the Tembisa ward--a counselor in the bishopric, informal executive secretary, and default ward clerk. He is beloved of the children and youth in the ward, and the bishop, a much more shy man, calls upon Fredrick constantly. He is a natural leader, someone who clearly loves others plus has the personal confidence to ask them to follow him in doing hard tasks. He and Olga are currently both looking for work; yet, in spite of their near desperate economic straits, they are dedicated to Fredrick’s receiving a university education.
Fredrick is a remarkable young man, a person sure to be one of the Black leaders of the Church in the coming years. He is mature beyond his years. He is very bright and capable intellectually. He works hard, and he is accustomed to working long hours. His training thus far is in computer technology, but his desire is to study international relations. His choice is indicative of his desire to be of service in broader arenas than would become available through a computer science career. He is quite willing to use whatever tools might come to hand to support his family, but he is determined to move into greater opportunities to bless others lives.
