Fredrick

My name is Fredrick. I go by the nickname Magiez, and I am from Migori, Kenya. I am the second oldest of my mom’s four children and one of many of my father’s children. My father required strict adherence to the rules and responsibilities required for living on his peasant farm. His harsh nature and the poverty we lived in pushed me to the streets to find resources and companionship.

My faith was first influenced by my aunt, the only person in my family with a faith in Jesus, who took us to church on occasion until she moved away. Years later, I was influenced by missionaries who began a street ministry in my community. They offered us juice, biscuits, and sweets, along with fun games, kindness, and words of hope about Jesus. Finally, sometime later, I met a pastor who introduced me to Young Life during a soccer camp. It was this friendship with the pastor that changed everything for me. He not only spoke words of life and hope in Jesus, but I took me in and gave me a home and place of belonging.

Now a Developing Leader, I am fulfilling my dream and passion of becoming a teacher by studying mathematics and geography at Chuka University. I perceive my life as incomplete without being actively involved with a community of youth. As a teacher, I will have the opportunity to invest in student’s lives academically, emotionally, and even spiritually as I continue in ministry. I will be the first person in all of my family to graduate from university!