Agnes Mussa Lubatula was born in 1984 at Mahina in Mwanza, Tanzania. Agnes’ parents practiced a traditional tribal faith, and by the time she was a teenager, she began preparing to take over the family tradition as it had happened for generations.

Prior to getting married, Agnes was a fully-fledged traditional doctor. Her mother only gave her full worship and traditional rights when she got married. The kind of lifestyle and practices her position came with, along with her open marriage, exposed her to HIV infection.

“When I got my results, I was filled with so many emotions. Sorrow and frustration were among those emotions that led me to self-stigmatize,” Agnes recalls. It was during this time that Agnes met with the Health Counselor at the Mahina center in Mwanza.

When she initially joined the Untold program, Agnes held onto her work as a traditional doctor. However, through the group therapy sessions, particularly the session about disclosure, she received a Bible. At the time, the center staff had no idea that she was going through a difficult season in her life. She struggled to open and read the Bible, instead, she would burst into tears.

Through her one-on-one counseling, Agnes began learning about Jesus. “ After I got saved, I left that life of witchcraft. I burned all my tools and joined the church and dedicated my life to worshipping God,” Agnes added. The Untold counselors describe her transformation as a miracle.

The food she has received through the program has boosted her health and enabled her to support her family, especially after she left her main income stream to follow Christ. Through the empowerment program, she acquired other business skills. “These skills have shown me how to be a steward of God's gifts in my life,” Agnes said.

“All I have learned in the program has opened my eyes and grounded me in this new chapter of life. I am so grateful to God because I know that it is He that arranged for me to meet the Untold team.”