(Nigeria)
A Danish aid worker who rescued a young boy abandoned
in Nigeria has celebrated the boy's first week at school on the
anniversary of his rescue.
The two-year-old boy was ostracised and left to die in the
streets last year because his family believed he was a "witch".
After hearing about the boy left on his own, Anja Ringgren Loven
launched a rescue mission to find him last January.
Photographs of the little boy, known as Hope, were shared around
the world after Ms Loven uploaded them to her Facebook page.
Hope was in ill-health and required an operation a few months
after he was found.
But a year on, Hope is now attending school and, from a series
of Facebook post shared last week, appears to be happy, healthy and
surrounded by loving friends and family.
In an update on her Facebook page earlier last month, Ms Loven
wrote that Hope was "growing with speed".
"He is such a handsome, healthy and very happy young boy because
of the tremendous love and care he receive[s] everyday from our
staff and all our children," it read.
Ms Loven, the co-founder of the African Children's Aid Education
and Development Foundation (ACAEDF), told the Huffington Post last
year that it was a common practice in some Nigerian communities to
shun children accused of witchcraft.
"Being rejected by your own family must be the loneliest feeling
a child can experience, and I don't believe that anyone can imagine
how that must feel like," she said.
The charity is specifically dedicated to rescuing children who
have been abandoned or tortured and ensuring that they have the
opportunity to go to school.
"The children receive plenty of care, medical treatment,
food/lodging and schooling, which combined to make children strong
and independent citizens," the organisation's Facebook page
states.
Ms Loven was also named the "most inspiring person of the year"
in 2016 by Germany's OOOM Magazine, beating out former US president
Barack Obama — who came in second — to secure the top spot.