A two-year-old Nigerian boy who was close to death before being rescued by a charity worker has grown healthy and is “really enjoying life now.”
A picture of the boy, Hope, was published in January showing the starving toddler being given a sip of water by an aid worker.
His family had abandoned him because they thought he was a witch.
Anja Ringgren Loven, a Danish woman serving in Africa, found him on the streets on January 31 and shared his plight.
Now Loven has shared a series of photographs showing Hope’s incredible recovery in just eight short weeks.
After finding Hope, Loven gave him water from a bottle she had with her as well as some food. Then she wrapped up the disorientated toddler in a blanket and took him to the nearest hospital.
Hope needed medication to remove the worms from his stomach and daily blood transfusions to inject more red blood cells into his suffering body.
Loven received $1 million in donations from around the world after she asked for help with Hope’s costly medical bills.
Just eight weeks later, Hope looks like a completely new person, having gained weight and become healthy. He is pictured smiling and playing with other children.
“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,” she wrote on Facebook.
Loven founded the African Children’s Aid Education and Development Foundation three years ago to help children who have been labeled witches and then neglected or even killed by 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 in January, accompanying shocking pictures of Hope in his degraded state.
“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!”
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