A devastating picture of a lady giving water and biscuits to an emaciated boy went viral and broke headlines last year. On January 31 2016, a two-year-old boy was rescued from the streets of Uyo Southeast Nigeria by a Danish aid worker Anja Ringgren Loven.
The boy named Hope, was accused of being a witch and later disowned by his own family. With the right amount of love and proper medical care, he is now as fit as a fiddle and packing his bag for school.
Loven stopped to give this boy some water and tried feeding him some crackers
Loven commemorated a photo of herself and Hope, which was shared around the world a year ago
Writing on Facebook last January Loven said,
“On the 30 January 2016, I went on a rescue mission with David Emmanuel Umem, Nsidibe Orok and our Nigerian team.
“A rescue mission that went viral, and today it’s exactly 1 year ago the world came to know a young little boy called Hope.
“This week Hope will start school.”
When Loven first noticed Hope, walking naked through the dusty streets of Nigeria where he could barely stand
Hope survived on the scraps and rubbish dumped by the people from the community.
He was in critical condition and had very little chance of surviving, where Loven said every breath he took was very challenging. However, Hope kept fighting and the treatment started working.
Hope started responding to his treatment and gaining weight
But a year on, Hope is now attending school and from a series of Facebook post shared he appears to be happy, healthy and surrounded by loving friends and family.
Hope is enjoying his time with 35 other children in an orphanage run by Loven and her husband
Loven was named “the most inspiring person of the year 2016” by Germany’s Ooom Magazine beating the likes of Pope Francis and Barack Obama to the title.
For the last years Loven devoted her time in helping these children
Her passion to help these kids, made her sell everything she owned to stay in Nigeria.
She founded the African Children’s Aid Education and Development Foundation to save thousands of kids who have been accused of witchcraft.
Do like and comment if you find this story inspiring !
Photo credits: Anja Ringgren Lovén
