
Fred

PROGRESS

OUR GOAL: A CIRCLE OF SUPPORTERS GIVING $350/MONTH OR $4200 FOR THE YEAR

Rwanda
University of Rwanda

Pharmacy
CAREER: Pharmacist
GRAD DATE: 2024
JOURNEY
- March 1, 2023 – In a recent Leadership Development Workshop, we explored the question, “How can you make sure the pain of your past doesn’t determine your future?” What stood out and meant the most to you in this workshop? Fred said: “The recent Leadership Development Worksop reminded me that finding yourself raised in an environment with limited opportunities is common but not a mistake and it has nothing to do with personal destiny. The way we perceive the situation determines the decisions we make and even the prayers that we pray. It’s not new environments, resources, or opportunities but rather our mindset transformation stands as the only weapon to change a dark background to a brilliant destiny.”
- September 8, 2022 – Fred discussed the biggest changes in his life since the end of the COVID restrictions: “COVID restrictions involved regulations requiring people to remain indoors for a specified amount of time. Academically speaking, the termination of curfew extended my working hours. I can now leave class at any time not worry about being punished for having violated the established COVID prevention measures.”
- September 13, 2021 – Fred shared his favorite song and what it means to him: “My song is “Lovin’ Me” by Jonathan McReynolds: https://youtu.be/mfyVeJ2OdQg It reminds me about God’s unconditional love for me.”
- July 16, 2021 – Fred shared what resilience means to him: “Resilience means the personal mental potential to recover quickly from misfortune or any unfavourable state of feeling.”
- March 1, 2021 – Fred shared his biggest lessons from 2020: “This year of 2020 has been the most challenging and educative year worldwide because almost all activities were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The highly effective intervention agreed upon globally was self-isolation and social distancing and the only possible way of implementation was limiting the situations where people gathered in one place. I have learned to complete assigned tasks, for I don’t know what time holds. This behavior practice of postponing the duties is associated with the possibility of failure.
Situations are always bound to change, an adaptive mind is a must! all battles are not fought in the same way therefore I have to search out another way and move on, obstacles are not excuses to leave the goals not achieved.
Big lesson of all times is that one man’s life illustrates the whole country’s life, one sector of production stands for all sectors, one nation stands for whole world. The elaboration of what this pandemic cost and is still costing each and everyone. For instance, the way to protect other people in your vicinity is to properly put-on facemasks. This interconnection is also clearly observed in the sector of production where closing intercontinental movements led to closure of many industrial operations.
Other lessons like Saving, regular follow-ups of set measure implementation, sensitization and community awareness are still being used by different organizations as the key weapons to handle the situation. Interestingly I have realized that these values are even personal leadership boosting tools. So we regularly have to practice them.”
Fred’S CIRCLE
- J. & A. Chang – Marina Del Rey, CA
- S. & S. Bailey – Beaverton, OR
BIO
Fred R was born and raised in a family of seven siblings. It was not a simple task for their parents to provide all the basic needs to such a big family. Schooling was the most crucial heritage that their parents could offer. They continued even though they struggled with regular expulsions because of school fees. He kept on fighting with zeal to harvest what the future holds, and lucky enough God blessed his academic journey. Fred R grew up in the community where dropping out of school was not a big deal. Many in his generation are illiterate, and the next generation are predominantly street boys and girls. Even though he has struggled, he has worked hard to reach this far. Health care services are still inadequately delivered, and people are losing their lives due to lack of health care practitioners to save their lives. This is where Fred R’s calling falls. And he dreams of planning and structuring how health care services are delivered to people in an equitable way. After graduating from a school of leadership and discipleship, Fred R realized that he has the capacity to become a good leader to his age group and the coming generation. He enjoys training about leadership skills, serving the community, participating in community education campaigns through the Rwandan Pharmaceutical Students Association. Fred R also enjoys playing musical instruments like piano, guitar, drums and singing.