Hope in 2016 abandoned by his family and Hope in 2020 adopted by Anja Ringgren

Anja Ringgren Lovén recued a Nigerian child and gave him the name Hope. Hope had been abandoned by his own family and community after he was accused of being a ‘witch’.

On January 30, 2016, Anja Ringgren Lovén, a Danish social worker living in Nigeria, rescued a starving toddler from imminent death.

The child had been abandoned by his own family and community after he was accused of being a ‘witch’, a practice that, sadly, is common in many African countries.

Barely capable of walking, he had been living on the streets for eight months and surviving on scraps thrown by people. Anja and her husband, David Emmanuel, run an orphanage called the African Children’s Aid Education and Development Foundation (ACAEDF) for abandoned children in south-east Nigeria.

When Anja received information about the child, she, along with her team, rushed to his village and gave him food, water, and first aid. Anja named the child Hope.

Soon after the rescue, Anja shared a video of herself giving water to little Hope to raise awareness about the tragic problem of child witches, and also to raise money for Hope’s medical needs. The photos and video went viral, and Hope’s story touched the hearts of millions.