On 19th of June 2022, JRS Uganda organized a memorial celebration in honor of the life of Fr. Frido Pflueger SJ who passed on last year. Fr. Frido had worked with JRS for many years and was Country Director for JRS Uganda since October 2018. According to the testimonies of the refugees, family, friends and JRS staff, he touched the lives of so many people.

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Madan Bahadur Bam commented: “Father Frido, you were such a wonderful human being and a true fatherly figure. You were truly inspirational and so full of positivity radiating from your face. I am grateful for the moments shared with you at JRS and you are dearly missed here.”

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Noelle Fitzpatrick met Fr. Frido for the first time in 2004 when she started working with JRS as a volunteer in the Regional Office: “I met a man who was very focused on the mission, he was very honest with what he wanted and what he didn’t want from the Regional Office. Over time I appreciated his honesty, integrity and his focus on the mission. His approach was: What you have in your heart, what you have in your head and what you have in your hands. You start from there. And the rest will come.”

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“When I came for the first time to JRS I was 17 years old. I was not able to speak this English you are listening to, it was so broken”, Jack Mwisa shared. “Reaching JRS’ gate impacted my life in so many ways.  I had a student in 2020 and his family had no food. And then Covid came. Things became even more harder for them. They came at JRS gate, and it was closed. But they were lucky and met Fr. Frido. He helped them with food support. The next day more and more people came to JRS. And after a period of time, we were hired as data entrants to register those benefitting from the support of JRS. I alone registered 1,000 families.  And all that started with Fr. Frido. This morning before coming I opened my bible and read a verse in the gospel of Matthew which talks of: you are the light of the world. Let your light be known by everyone. I first could not understand but when I reached here, I understood that this light is what we do. The light is what will remain even after we have gone. And this is Fr. Frido’s light.”

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Fr Frido returned to the Lord on Saturday, 19 June 2021, the eve of World Refugee Day – a testimony of his incredible dedication to each refugee he ever met. His commitment, love, and legacy to accompany the most vulnerable will continue to inspire JRS’s work and mission.

Read the full article on the JRS East Africa website.