Married to a man who practiced witchcraft what would you do?  Read Suzana’s story and see the strength of these lion hearted women of Africa who struggle to protect and provide for their children.

Suzana is 35 years old and she comes from Kigoma region. She was married and lived with her husband, and together they had seven children aged 18yrs, 14yrs(who passed away in April 2025), 13yrs, 10yrs, 8yrs, and 4month old twins.

Suzana shares that her husband did not like to work at all. Because of this, she was the one who struggled every day, doing small jobs on other people’s farms just to earn a little money to feed her family and provide basic needs like school, clothes, healthcare, and food for the children.

Even with all her effort and sacrifice, her husband did not appreciate her. Instead, he was unfaithful and had relationships with other women outside the marriage. Whenever Suzana tried to talk to him and ask him to change, he would beat her badly and abuse her. At one point, he beat her so severely that she became very sick and had to stay in the hospital for a whole month.

Because of this violence, at the beginning of 2025, Suzana decided to leave him to save her life. She went to stay with her sister. While she was there, she discovered that she was pregnant again.

Her husband did not care for the children at all, he did not provide food or any basic needs. Because of this, the children later ran away and followed their mother.

Suzana explains that her husband was a man who did not want to work but loved an easy and luxurious life. He was influenced to practice witchcraft, believing it would make him rich. Suzana later heard from his friends that he was planning to sacrifice their first born son for money.

She tried everything to protect her children. But in April 2025, while the children were at school, her husband went there and asked the teacher to release their 14year old son to him. The teacher trusted him and allowed the child to go, not knowing about the family situation.

That day, when the other children returned home, the boy was missing. When Suzana asked, they said their father had taken him. She immediately started searching for him the whole day without success. The next day, they continued searching, and later they found the boy near a river. He had been strangled to death, still in his school uniform.

Suzana says this moment broke her completely. Her blood pressure rose severely due to the shock. She reported the case to the police, and her husband was arrested and sent to prison.

However, after only three months, the husband’s relatives bribed the police, and he was released.

When Suzana heard that he was free, she knew she and her children were no longer safe. She decided that the only way to survive was to run very far away from Kigoma region. Using the small condolence money she received after her son’s funeral, she traveled with all her children to the Arusha region, even though she did not know where they would live. At that time, she was seven months pregnant.

When they arrived at the bus stand, she asked a Tuktuk driver to take her anywhere they could find an empty room. They had nothing except a few clothes in bags, which they spread on the floor and slept on until kind people helped them with a mattress.

One day, a neighbor noticed she was pregnant but not attending the clinic. When asked, Suzana said she was afraid to go because she had no money to give birth at the hospital. The neighbor helped her and took her to Maternity Africa Hospital, where she started clinic visits and later delivered safely.

Currently, her eldest daughter works in small local restaurants and earns about 3,000 shillings per day. This is what they use to try to buy food, though it is not enough. Her other children who are of school age were taken to a government school by some good people, but they were not accepted because they cannot read or write, even though they are older.

Suzana is still living in deep fear, and she continues to suffer from high blood pressure. She struggles to pay rent and meet basic household needs. Many times, the landlord has wanted to evict them, but each month, a kind person has come to help them pay. Now, the rent is about to end again, and she will soon need to pay for the next few months.

Suzana carries a lot of pain and fear in her heart. When she shares her story, she often says, “I wish I could go very far away, even to another country, where this man will never find me, and even if he tries, he cannot reach me or my children.”

When we spoke with Suzana, she shared that she strongly wishes to start small businesses that can help her provide for her family and avoid living a life without certainty of basic needs. For now, she is not able to do this because her C-section wound has not yet healed, and her children are still very young. However, this shows Suzana’s hardworking spirit and her deep desire to fight for her life and build a better future for her family.

We have spoken with Suzana in depth and assured her that through the MAP Program at Neema Village, she will have a safe family and support system for her and her children. We will walk with her in this journey of healing and help her overcome the fear and uncertainty she is living with.

Suzana will be receiving monthly money for food, counseling support, Bible studies, entrepreneurship training, and women’s rights education so she can understand and stand for her rights.