Comfort International and its supporters were deeply shocked and saddened to hear of the sudden death of long term friend, and staff member of our partners, Comfort Rwanda and Solace Ministries, Mulissa Fred, who tragically passed away at 6pm on Friday the 18th of August 2023. Fred was taken suddenly into hospital with stomach pains, where he died shortly after of unknown cause. Our thoughts and prayers are with Fred’s friends and family who will miss him dearly.
Many who have been on trips to Rwanda will know and have fond memories of Fred, who has been a friend to the charity for over 15 years. He was known to many as “Gentle Fred” with a kind and quiet nature which endeared him to so many. Some, however, will know of Fred’s great inner strength, and the story of a survivor of the most brutal of trials. Only the scars on his head and legs, and the absence of his right hand betrayed the horrors he had suffered. His story though, and the healing he found following it, allowed him to bless the lives of so many others who had also suffered, and that legacy will last on in their lives.
Fred had a good life before the genocide of 1994. He told us, “I lived at Nyamata, Kanzenze district in rural Kigali. We had a big family. I remember how my grandfather loved me so much. I had my grandmother and many aunts. The youngest of my aunts, Uwamwezi, loved me so much. I can’t forget her. I liked to look after my grandfather’s cows and always be with him. He gave me two even though I was too young to have my own cows.” He recalled things began to change in 1992 when he noticed the signs of violence around him, and then the genocide broke out in ’94. In the months that followed, Fred witnessed and experienced atrocities that no human being, let alone a child, should ever be exposed to. After weeks of running and hiding, separated from his family, the killers found him hiding in a bush, and beat him so savagely that the memories were blacked out from his mind. He was left for dead, his hand removed, his leg seriously damaged and with no food or water to survive. In the months that followed, Fred survived by pretending he was dead, and by the kindesses of an uncle who brought him sweet potatoes, an old lady who put herbs on his wounds, and even a dog who chased away the wild animals who threatened to finish him off.
Fred was eventually saved and taken to Nyamata in a wheelbarrow. He said, “There I found people living in peace, as if it was their normal life. People were amazed to see me in my condition. They took me to a school where nurses were taking care of people who were injured. I no longer thought that I was going to die. I spent one month there while they were treating my infections, trying to get the maggots out of my wounds. I was transferred to another hospital called Ririma in Gashora district. They did surgery on my leg and I had to stay there for four weeks. I couldn’t eat what they prepared for me. They then transferred me again, this time to King Faisal Hospital. There were many people there like me, but others had loved ones to take care of them. But there were some people charged with caring for people like me who had no loved ones to for them. In the hospital my leg was causing me a lot of pain. They did four operations. I wanted them to amputate my leg, but they didn’t. Finally the pain went away. The doctors liked me and cared about me.”
Life after the genocide was not easy for Fred. Without family, and missing his right hand, he had to rely on others, who abandoned him time and time again. He went back to school and onto university, where he stayed in people’s houses and often had nothing to eat all day. Then one day, a friend told him about Solace Ministries. He said, “Everyone I met there received me well and promised to stay close to me. I felt at home there. I found many others who were like me, but I also found love and God in their prayer services. They have stayed close to me as they promised. I started to have hope because I found people I could consider like my parents.”
Fred spent many years working with Solace Ministries where he counselled survivors who had been through the same trauma as he, and helped them to find the love and hope that he had found in Jesus. He was well-loved and respected by everyone who met him. I myself met him as a child and remember the warmth and grace that surrounded him as he ministered so delicately to those around him. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Fred lost his job like many others, but it led to him working with Comfort Rwanda for the last few years. It was wonderful to reconnect with Fred on recent visits and see again how God used his heart and his testimony to bring light and hope to all those around him.
Social media has been a platform for many of those that knew and loved Mulissa Fred to express their sadness at his passing, and also their gratitude for a life well lived which touched so many others.
Fiona writes, “I have so many amazing memories of Fred. He will be so missed.”
Billy adds, “Fred was such an integral part of the Solace Ministries team for a number of years where he was our link between Solace and the community in Jari. He will be sorely missed.”
Julie reflects, “I’m so sad to hear this. I’ve known Fred since my first trip and I was very fond of him; a gentle and self-effacing man.”
Noel posted, “May he rest in His arms & meet all whom he cherished for the grandest feast imaginable. See you later Fred! Thanks for your patience and kindness towards us.”
Kilvert said, “What a lovely person. So pleased to have met this inspirational person.”
Anne wrote, “Heart breaking news, so very sad! Thinking of all who knew him and worked with him. Such a lovely gentle soul! Now with the Lord he loved and served so faithfully.”
Izzy summed up well, “We send our love and prayers to all of Fred’s family and friends. We share in your sadness and grief and, at the same time, are full of thanksgiving for such a precious life and for the wonderful rescue and restoration God brought to Fred. He touched the lives of so many to help rebuild the lives of survivors, communities and young people. We will always be grateful for the privilege of knowing him. God bless and comfort you and fill you with the hope that he is now in the presence of Jesus.”
Mulissa Fred has had an undeniable impact on the lives of many across the world. We echo the sentiments of so many, sending our love and prayers to his close friends and family, sharing in the grief, while with the unshakeable hope that we will see Fred again, and look forward to that wonderful day in heaven.
