Danish aid worker, Anja Loven Ringgren, has taken to social media to share the before and after photos of a toddler, Hope, who was abandoned and left to die after being branded a witch.
Hope had been abandoned after being accused of witchcraft. He was severely malnourished and near death when Ringgren found him. She provided him with food and water, then took him to the hospital.
Before Ms Lovén and her husband David rescued him, Hope due to the rejection from his family was forced to live on the street where he contracted a number of illnesses including worms.
Speaking about the experience, she said: “He was the size of a little baby, my whole body froze.
“I became a mother myself 20 months ago and I was thinking of my own son when I saw the boy. For me it was clear at that moment that I would fight with all my strength for him to survive.”
The rescue was captured in a viral photo that brought international attention to the issue of children being accused of witchcraft and abandoned in Nigeria.
In a recent social media post, Ringgren shared a photo of herself and a now-grown Hope, looking nourished.
See photo below:
In 2016, Anja Ringgren Lovén, a Danish care worker, topped the list of 100 inspiring individuals compiled by German-language Ooom Magazine.
An image of Ms Lovén giving two-year-old Hope some water was shared around the world, and served to highlight the work she was doing to help orphan children in Nigeria.
“Anja Ringgren Lovén is a beacon of hope and the most inspiring person of the year 2016,” said Georg Kindel, OOOM’s editor-in-chief, who led the jury that chose the list. “When she saw the starving child, she acted like a human being and became an inspiration for millions. Her sustained efforts to help the abandoned children of Nigeria gives us hope and encourages us to follow suit.”