Hope on the Road: A naked, emaciated toddler weighing just seven pounds, cast out by his parents for being a 'witch,' and the rescue that stunned the world.
On a roadside in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria, a naked, emaciated three-year-old named Hope lay clinging to a raggedy doll, sucking on a plastic bottle for life-sustaining water. He weighed just seven pounds. His parents had banished him, convinced he was a witch possessed by the devil. The moment a charity volunteer spotted him became a turning point that shocked the world and prompted a global conversation about superstition and child abuse.
In This Article:
Abandoned as a witch: The parents’ verdict that their son was possessed by the devil
Hope was cast out of his family home and village when he was just three years old, left to fend for himself on the streets, surviving on scraps. The belief that a child is a witch is sadly all too prevalent and is not confined to any faith, nationality, or ethnic group. When volunteers from Land of Hope found him crouched by the roadside, his weight was little more than seven pounds, and his only possession was a raggedy doll.
Rescue and Recovery: The fight to keep him alive
Hope spent three months in hospital recovering from severe malnutrition, under the care of Land of Hope founder Anja Rinngren Loven. She recalls the moment: “When we got to this little boy, he was smelling of death. I thought he would die in my arms. We don’t know how he pulled through, but he did.” Against the odds, he pulled through and began a long, hopeful recovery.
A turning point: Hope’s new life
Today, Hope is 12 years old and has left primary school. He is deaf and communicates through writing, but he has big dreams for the future and is known by teachers at his orphanage as ‘Little Picasso.’ He is now very independent, strong, and intelligent, with lots of friends. Anja says she is incredibly proud he graduated and was full of pride in that moment.
A wider crisis: Faith-based abuse in the UK
The Daily Mail can reveal that the number of children in England suspected of abuse linked to faith or belief has surged to a record high. Official figures show 2,180 children were identified as potential victims last year, up from 2,140 in 2023 and 1,960 in 2022. This represents a 49% increase on 2017, when 1,460 were identified. The Local Government Association described the figures as deeply worrying and urged councils to provide more funding for children’s social care.
