A skeletal toddler abandoned by his family for being a ‘witch’ is now thriving after being rescued by a charity and graduating from primary school.
Hope, now 12, was just three when he was found emaciated and fighting for his life by the roadside in the state of Akwa Ibom, Nigeria.
His community thought the devil had possessed him, turning him into a witch, bringing them bad luck.
Hope was rescued thanks to charity Land of Hope, and found by Anja Ringgren Loven, 47, when he was so weak he may have died that very day.
He has been living at Land of Hope’s orphanage ever since – and last month he graduated from primary school with dreams of following a creative path into dance or art.
Land of Hope is an NGO fighting superstitions about witchcraft, which result in young children being abandoned by their families.
Anja, who splits her time between Nigeria and her homeland of Denmark, said: ‘When we got to this little boy, he was smelling of death. I thought he would die in my arms. We don’t know how he pulled through, but he did.
‘He is strong and intelligent, and I am very proud. I rescued him, and saved his life, but now it’s time for him to tell his own story.’
When Anja and her partner, David Emmanuel Umem, found Hope in 2016, they initially thought he was 18 months old due to his size. But at age three, Hope only weighed three kilos.
Anja said: ‘Normally we rescue children that are at least four or five – we couldn’t understand how anyone could have thought a two-year-old was a threat.’
Superstitious beliefs are prevalent in Nigeria, and young children are often held responsible for misfortune in a family by caregivers who believe they practice witchcraft.
This was how tiny Hope, whose name, chosen by Anja, stands for ‘Help One Person Everyday’, ended up starving and helpless on a street in the state of Akwa Ibom.
‘He was so weak – I gave him a little carton of juice and he didn’t even have the strength to lift it to his mouth,’ she said.
Against the odds, Hope survived the journey and spent three months in the hospital, where Anja and David would visit him every day until he was strong enough to come and live at Land of Hope.
They learned early on that Hope had hearing and speech problems, which Anja said could explain his abandonment because children with disabilities are much more likely to be blamed.
He has become best friends with Anja and David’s son, David Junior, now 11.
She said: ‘Sometimes, when we rescue children, they might behave strangely – like getting into fights or stealing, and we have to counsel and help them.
‘But with Hope, there were never any setbacks – it was all an upward curve.’
Anja said they did manage to track down Hope’s family and learned that his mother gave birth in her teens with little support.
Hope is deaf and rarely speaks – preferring to communicate by writing and signing.
He loves art – and staff call him ‘little Picasso’ – as well as dance. He can feel the beat of the music and uses hand signs to tell visual stories.
Anja says she wants to encourage Hope to write a book about his life when he’s old enough.
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