History of UCE: Tanzania

Universal Chastity Education(UCE)-Tanzania is a non-profit organization established in 2009. Its purpose is to promote through education sexual abstinence until marriage and marital fidelity as healthy lifestyles free from sexually transmitted diseases including HIV and AIDS.

 UCE Tanzania was the third UCE branch established. It was formed after a local priest cried for help asking, “What good will another school room do if I have no students left to teach?” Joe Wodiuk, and his wife Jill, had been to Tanzania previously and built a schoolroom for Fr. Francesco Mosofu. They had wanted to build him another. However, they were troubled by Fr. Mosofu’s lament and how discouraged he was.

Joe had remembered hearing that UCE was working to prevent AIDS in Africa. He called them, and told them how discouraged the priest was. Fr. Mosofu went to visit the Dernovseks and received a presentation on UCE and what UCE does. They tried to inspire him that the teachings he has in The Bible are the methods that have had success in Africa. They told him about the Ugandan success with the abstinence and be faithful through Christ approach. By the end of the day he was very excited and wanted to talk to his Bishop, Bishop Ngalalekumtwa of Iringa, about UCE.

About a month later UCE got an email from him that the Bishop wanted to send he and another priest Fr. Aidan Ulungi to an outreach in Uganda. They would observe from them and learn what they were doing in Uganda. They paid for their trip and wanted only to observe. Part of the vision of UCE is not only to tell the world about the Ugandan success, but also to allow others to incorporate this success into their own culture, their own way, using their own strategies and methods that they know will work.

Six months after Fr. Mosofu and Fr. Ulungi visited Uganda, and with the help of Isaac Lema and Leonard Mgina, UCE-Tanzania was born. Bishop Ngalalekumtwa donated a diocesan building for offices and serves as the UCE Tanzania patron. Fr. Ulungi organized an all volunteer staff so that UCE could begin even before funding was available!