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A picture of a starving toddler given a sip of water by an aid worker broke hearts around the world when it was published in January 2016, now he is thriving thanks to one lady and ready to start school for the first time.

In April 2016 the Daily Mail reported, the boy, now called Hope, was abandoned by his family because they thought he was a witch and was found in the streets by Anja Ringgren Loven, a Danish woman living in Africa, on January 31.

hope mf

“The day I carried this sweet little boy in my arms for the very first time I was so sure he would not survive, she wrote on Facebook. Every breath he took was a struggle and I did not want him to die without a name, without dignity, so I named him Hope.

Hope to me is a special name. Not only the meaning of Hope, but what it stands for. Many years ago I got the name HOPE tattooed on my fingers because to me it means:

Help One Person Everyday – HOPE”

hope 4

Ms Loven has shared a series of photographs showing Hope’s miraculous recovery in just eight short weeks, and says he ‘is really enjoying life now’.

hope 2 hope 3 hope 1

Two days after the aid worker asked for the community’s help with Hope’s costly medical bills, she received $1million in donations from around the world.

Just eight weeks later, Hope is unrecognisable. He has gained weight and has been pictured smiling and playing with other children.

Ms Loven wrote: ‘As you can see on the pictures, Hope is 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.’

But she explained Hope has hypospadias, a genital birth defect meaning the urethra emerges somewhere on the shaft or even the base of the penis, instead of at the tip.

She added: ‘The doctors found this inborn condition on Hope, so next week Hope will have surgery.

‘This is an operation the doctors have performed many times, so Hope will be very fine.’

Ms Loven is the founder of African Children’s Aid Education and Development Foundation, which she created three years ago to help children who have been labelled witches and therefore neglected or even killed by the members of their community.

‘Thousands of children are being accused of being witches and we’ve both seen torture of children, dead children and frightened children,’ she wrote on Facebook, accompanying images of her feeding the young boy and appealing for donations to help pay for his medical bills in January.

‘With all the money, we can, besides giving Hope the very best treatment, now also build a doctor clinic on the new land and save many more children out of torture!’ she said.

UPDATE 6 February 2017

The young boy has been pictured smiling as he prepares for his first day of school. Anja shared, “On the 30 of January 2016 I went on a rescue mission with David Emmanuel Umem, Nsidibe Orok and our Nigerian team. A rescue mission that went viral, and today it’s exactly 1 year ago the world came to know a young little boy called Hope.

This week Hope will start school.”

Such a beautiful lady. What an awesome story.

Share your comments below.

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  • What a heroine she is and Hope looks wonderful.

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  • It’s wonderful she received such a response to her plea for help.

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  • This makes me believe anything is possible

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  • We all need a bit of hope in our lives & this woman is truly is awe- inspiring

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  • This gave me goosebumps to see the miraculous change in this little boy. What a wonderful and inspiring story.

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  • What a miraculous recovery indeed ! I’m glad Ms Loven got to meet this boy in time. How sad to be abandoned because you’re believed to be a witch. Praying many more children will be rescued !

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  • It just proves how well good food and medical treatment can improve the quality of life. This little one is extremely lucky he was rescued when he was.
    I am certain Ms. Loven will save many more lives in Africa.

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  • That is amazing. I’m so happy to see Hope doing well

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  • Thank goodness we have angels walking this earth.

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  • Witches are fantasy figures to us, I can only imagine the reality of being outcast for other people’s beliefs.

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  • This is so marvellous! What a wonderful soul. This lady is an angel in disguise. Hope is certainly a very powerful part of the human psyche.

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  • What a truly beautiful, heartwarming real life story in amongst all the misery in the world. I wish Hope all the very best with this new life ahead of him.

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  • Such an awesome and inspiring story! If only there were more people like the lovely Anja around, the world would be such a happier place. I wish Hope all the love and happiness for his life that he so deserves.

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  • Hope was blessed the day Ms Loven came into his life.

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  • If only there were more like her in this world. She is such an inspiration and a blessing to those children and all those around her. I wish her good health and more blessings for her foundation and the development of the children.

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  • All the best to Hope and it’s wonderful people like this amazing lady which truly make a difference, a very inspirational story.

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  • So happy to read that this boy has been saved! When I first saw this image I actually found it hard to get out of my head! I like the idea of what hope stands for too, think we should all try it, even if we can’t get to one person every day!

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  • Wow, what a difference a few short weeks and some love can make to a child. How terrible to think he was abandoned because his own family thought he was a witch. Thus woman is doing a fantastic job

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  • Perhaps some of the money raised could be used to educate the families about birth defects and witches so other children wont have to suffer the same abuse.

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  • It’s really a very touching story. And what a bring transformation Hope had. All thanks to that sweet woman and all the money she was able to raise. 🙂

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