Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,160
- Reaction score
- 7
The Observer - He became deaf at 14 after illness
With a smile on his face, Rev Fred Mutagulwa, a deaf and dumb priest greets his flock as soon as the service ends.
Everyone wants to talk to him and he keeps making signs of “Wait till I finish with this, then it will be you.”
Even when you don’t understand everything, he is trying to communicate, the dark skinned 35-year-old clergy is patient and keeps checking my notebook to be sure I was writing what he meant. Though born in Kamwokya in a family of six to Mr and Mrs Ponsiano Rutasitana, Fred Mutagulwa went to Nsasani primary school and Munazi Mumoja secondary school in Dares Salaam, Tanzania. This is because his mother is Tanzanian while his late father was Ugandan.
At 14 years while in S4, Rev Mutagulwa suffered from severe measles and cerebral malaria. This sickness caused his ears to close. He said, “I had to come back to Uganda because when the teacher spoke, I could just interpret what he was saying from the movement of his lips.”
Being born in a strong Christian family, he studied the Bible from home. His mother also pastors Kamwokya Anointed Christian Church. He further learnt how to preach the gospel in 2000 at Bible College, Kenya where he had evangelism classes and pastoral training. When he returned to Uganda, he went to Ntinda School for the Deaf where he learnt sign language in 1997. In fact, apart from being a reverend of his church, he teaches at the school whenever he is available.
In 1998, he joined Namirembe vocational school where he learnt building and carpentry to earn him a living. However, he hardly has time to do this work because he is always preaching all over the globe. Last month, he was in Ivory Coast. Now married to Alice whom he met at Namirembe deaf church in 2003 and wedded the same year, the man of God is blessed with a son and hopes for more kids. His wife is also deaf.
Mutagulwa says what gives him the strength to go on is that he can serve just as efficiently as those without his disability can.
“[When] I have an interpreter, I can serve even those that hear. People keep saying that the deaf are stupid and can’t do anything for themselves, but look at me. God loves us equally, He does not segregate and the deaf people can serve the Lord in many different ways.”
He does not, however, run away from the fact that he faces challenges while preaching to ordinary people. At times even the interpreter misquotes him, but the good thing is that he can write; so, he is sometimes forced to write down what he means.
Rev Mutagulwa is now a lecturer at the Deaf Ministry International, Makerere. He is also the founder of the Ntinda Deaf church, started in 2005. He says he formed the church after a calling from God to serve the deaf who were yearning for Christ but had no shepherd.
With a smile on his face, Rev Fred Mutagulwa, a deaf and dumb priest greets his flock as soon as the service ends.
Everyone wants to talk to him and he keeps making signs of “Wait till I finish with this, then it will be you.”
Even when you don’t understand everything, he is trying to communicate, the dark skinned 35-year-old clergy is patient and keeps checking my notebook to be sure I was writing what he meant. Though born in Kamwokya in a family of six to Mr and Mrs Ponsiano Rutasitana, Fred Mutagulwa went to Nsasani primary school and Munazi Mumoja secondary school in Dares Salaam, Tanzania. This is because his mother is Tanzanian while his late father was Ugandan.
At 14 years while in S4, Rev Mutagulwa suffered from severe measles and cerebral malaria. This sickness caused his ears to close. He said, “I had to come back to Uganda because when the teacher spoke, I could just interpret what he was saying from the movement of his lips.”
Being born in a strong Christian family, he studied the Bible from home. His mother also pastors Kamwokya Anointed Christian Church. He further learnt how to preach the gospel in 2000 at Bible College, Kenya where he had evangelism classes and pastoral training. When he returned to Uganda, he went to Ntinda School for the Deaf where he learnt sign language in 1997. In fact, apart from being a reverend of his church, he teaches at the school whenever he is available.
In 1998, he joined Namirembe vocational school where he learnt building and carpentry to earn him a living. However, he hardly has time to do this work because he is always preaching all over the globe. Last month, he was in Ivory Coast. Now married to Alice whom he met at Namirembe deaf church in 2003 and wedded the same year, the man of God is blessed with a son and hopes for more kids. His wife is also deaf.
Mutagulwa says what gives him the strength to go on is that he can serve just as efficiently as those without his disability can.
“[When] I have an interpreter, I can serve even those that hear. People keep saying that the deaf are stupid and can’t do anything for themselves, but look at me. God loves us equally, He does not segregate and the deaf people can serve the Lord in many different ways.”
He does not, however, run away from the fact that he faces challenges while preaching to ordinary people. At times even the interpreter misquotes him, but the good thing is that he can write; so, he is sometimes forced to write down what he means.
Rev Mutagulwa is now a lecturer at the Deaf Ministry International, Makerere. He is also the founder of the Ntinda Deaf church, started in 2005. He says he formed the church after a calling from God to serve the deaf who were yearning for Christ but had no shepherd.