Our UCE patron in Tanzania, Bishop Tarcisius Ngalalekumtwa, President of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference, said upon the formation of UCE Tanzania in 2008, “I think UCE will be a new way of bringing the Gospel to the youth.” Those prophetic words proved true where on the same annual budget since 2008, the program has spread to 9 districts, created 4 UCE ‘bases’, and helped over 60,000 youth commit to chastity. Due to the great success of the Tanzania team, the Ministry of Education has begun to incorporate UCE materials into government teaching material, and has authorized UCE to perform outreaches at all government schools. Programs have expanded to reach not only youth, but also married persons and seminarians.
The chastity message provides many people with a first encounter to a greater Gospel message of mercy, love, forgiveness, and a better way of living. In Kasese, Uganda, the team travels deep into the Rwenzori Mountains to reach those who have never before heard the Gospel. They have found high school dropout rates around 60-70%, children as young as 12 forced to marry, rampant prostitution, and polygamous marriages. So, their task includes evangelization of entire communities while helping students enroll or stay in school. UCE Chastity Sports Clubs have helped them accomplish this task by building students’ life skills, providing them with a support network, and sensitizing entire communities to the chastity message during sports events. A UCE volunteer gives a play-by-play of the matches while incorporating chastity facts and Scripture passages, “Number eight takes the ball, he is running fast…he must be strong because he is living a healthy life through chastity! He passes to number five.”
One girl in Uganda shared, “When the UCE Team came to my school, I thought they were wasting my time. However, as they began their talks something came into my mind telling me to put my relationship aside and focus on my studies. I contemplated giving up my relationship, and then asked myself, can I abstain? Can I really live without having sex? After a long time of meditation, I stood up and picked a chastity card and signed it. I was still full of doubt about whether I would manage to leave my boyfriend and concentrate on my studies. Thereafter, I asked God to help me. I started reading my books, and last term I was in the 5th out of 100 students in the 9th grade. Prior to this, I was very last in my class! I thank God and UCE for this.”
In the fiscal year ending July 31st 2015, UCE visited 205 high schools, 9 colleges, 10 youth groups, 11 parishes, 5 married persons groups, 2 seminaries and held 15 conferences in Uganda, Burundi, and Tanzania. 41,045 young people made commitments to chastity. UCE established 53 new UCE Chastity Clubs. In Ibadan, Nigeria, 70 youth leaders were trained to be chastity ambassadors in a 3 day workshop. In the Philippines, 517 youth committed to chastity at 4 seminaries, 2 high schools, and 1 college during an exploratory trip.
To date, 305,496 young people have committed themselves to God and chastity. This year, 88% of expenses were spent on program services, 10% were spent on general expenses and management, and 2% were spent on fundraising. Thank you to all of you who helped UCE to bring this life-saving message of true love, forgiveness, and hope to youth around the world. We continue to need your help! These successes are made possible because of support we receive from donors, just like you. If we, the people of faith, do not support our youth in chastity, no one else will.
Yours in Christ,
Andrew Dernovsek
Executive Director
Read the full report here.