Yesterday, January 31 marked exactly two years since Danish aid worker Anja Ringgren Loven was photographed giving water to a severely emaciated 2-year-old boy, whom she rescued after he was branded a witch by his family and left to starve to death in Akwa Ibom state.
The child had reportedly wandered the streets for eight months when the Anja got a phone call and immediately led a rescue team to bring him to the Children’s Education and Development Foundation (ACAEDF) also known as ‘Land of Hope’ named after the boy.
On Wednesday, Anja shared forty photos of Hope to show his remarkable transformation two years after the rescue. She also appreciated members of her team responsible for his incredible recovery, including her husband, David Emmanuel Umem. See her post and more photos below:
“On the 30 of January 2016 David Emmanuel Umem and I together with Nsidibe Orok and our team went on a rescue mission that would change our lives forever.
On the 31 of January 2016, 2 years ago today we showed pictures of the little boy we had rescued the day before.
We named him Hope.
He survived.
Today I want to celebrate Hope. I want to celebrate the persons responsible for his survival. His outstanding recovery. The persons who made him become a healthy, strong, naughty, intelligent and happy student: Rose Efiok David Emmanuel Umem Nsidibe Orok Don Udowan Edidiong Inyang Ekemini Jacobs Kingsley Umem Bassey Antia David Antia Shedrach Esin Asuquo Ita Asuquo Matilda Udo Ekuyik Andrew Patience Uko and all our children ??.?
These 40 pictures show the incredible transformation of Hope from the day of the rescued to today. Words are not enough. The pictures will one by one tell his story
See some of the photos below…