Fredrick Ntabwoba and his wife, Experance Rugomwa, lived through the challenging 1990s racial upheavals in their homeland, Rwanda. With their three children, they escaped to a refugee camp in Zambia, where Fredrick was able to teach English and French at the local convent school. After four years in the camp and the tragic loss of their son, the couple and their two daughters were assigned to Salt Lake City, Utah, as refugees.
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“I went to the British Library to find out about Utah,” Ntabwoba said. “I had never heard of it before, but it felt like the right place for us.”
A prayerful person by nature, Fredrick knew his family was watched over, especially after they arrived in Salt Lake City and a thoughtful volunteer service missionary couple stopped by their new apartment. The missionaries and the resettlement agency helped them find furnishings, food, household goods and their way around and through the services provided them in their new community.
“Since I was young,” Fredrick explained, “everywhere I’ve gone the way has been prepared for me. There were always people willing to help me.”
Now, after 13 years in Utah, Fredrick works at the Utah Department of Workforce Services to help other refugees navigate their resettlement.
“We were lucky we spoke English when we arrived, but even as an educated man in my homeland, my first job here was as a dishwasher at an airport restaurant.” Fredrick noted. “We all worked hard, but we have been blessed. Our daughters both graduated from college, one with a master’s degree. We had another son, and we found the Church of Jesus Christ. We have many, many blessings; we always felt there was a plan for us.