The heart-rending moment starving little boy who was shunned as a 'WITCH CHILD' is given a sip of water

Hope was found wandering the streets - naked and sick

LOOKING at this photo of a malnourished child you, would be forgiven for mistaking it for a picture from a famine. But you would be wrong. This little boy, this innocent starved, naked little boy, was accused of being a witch in Nigeria and was shunned by the community as a result.

This little boy was accused of being a witch in Nigeria

His story has come to light after a picture of a Danish woman Anja Ringgren Lovén feeding the little boy, now named Hope, went viral. Anja is the founder of the African Children’s Aid Education and Development Foundation, which attempts to save ‘witch children’ and change attitudes of Nigerian communities towards this archaic and cruel practice.

He was shunned by the community as a result

 When a child is accused of being a witch by any member of the village, with many times accusations coming from the child’s parents themselves, they are often tortured or killed. Parents risk being killed if they let their child stay after an accusation.

Anja’s foundation is working hard to help educate the local communities, many of which are poor and uneducated, which keeps this practice alive. When she posted this photo of Hope on her Facebook, she accompanied it with a powerful message.

“Thousands of children are being accused of being witches and we’ve both seen torture of children, dead children and frightened children.

This footage shows why I fight. Why I sold everything I own. Why I’m moving out in uncharted territory,” she said.
“I have chosen to call the boy Hope for right now, we all hope that he survives.” Today he is doing well, with daily blood transfusions and a loving group of volunteers taking care of him.