Starving 2-Year-Old Nigerian Boy Accused Of Being A Witch Makes Incredible Recovery

Aid worker Anja Ringgren Lovén dedicates her life to helping neglected and orphaned children in Nigeria. When she found Hope, the 2-year-old boy had been accused of witchcraft and was starving to death.

He was abandoned by his parents and shunned by everyone in his village. Hope is one of thousands of Nigerian children who are accused of witchcraft and abused and neglected as a result.

Lovén doesn’t know why he was accused of being a witch, but she took the boy back with her to her charitable organization to care for him.

When she posted a photo of Hope in January 2015 the image shocked the world, and inspired people to donate over $1 million dollars to her organization.

Warning: the video below contains disturbing subject matter that may be difficult for some viewers to watch.

Now, two months later, Hope is a far cry from the malnourished and starving boy Lovén saved. He has gained weight and has a big smile on his face.

He’s very happy and “really enjoying his life now, having 35 new brothers and sisters who ALL take such good care of him, play with him, study with him, and make sure he is safe and is getting a lot of love,” Lovén writes on Facebook.

Here he is with Lovén’s husband, David, who runs the African Children’s Aid Education and Development Foundation with Lovén.

Hope will soon undergo surgery to correct a birth defect (he has Hypospadias, an incomplete developed urethra). Doctors expect him to make a full recovery.

Thanks to Lovén, Hope has a bright future ahead of him. Share the wonderful, life-saving work Lovén and African Children’s Aid Education and Development Foundation does to help children like Hope!