Foto von Zweijährigem ging um die WeltWegen Hexerei in Nigeria verstoßen und vor dem Tod gerettet: So geht es Hope heute

Hope
Anja Ringgren Lovén fand Hope auf den Straßen Nigerias

Er irrte völlig abgemagert und verwahrlost durch die Straßen eines Dorfes in Nigeria. Hope war gerade einmal zwei Jahre alt, als die dänische Entwicklungshelferin Anja Ringgren Lovén ihn fand. Das Foto des nackten Jungen, dem Lovén eine Flasche Wasser reicht, ging um die Welt. Seine Eltern glaubten, er wäre ein sogenanntes Hexenkind, von Dämonen besessen. Sie warfen ihn weg wie Müll. Lovén brachte ihn in ein Krankenhaus und taufte ihn Hope. Ob er überleben würde, war ungewiss. Doch Hope schaffte es – und ist heute nicht mehr wiederzuerkennen.

"Ein Kind hatte eine Axt im Schädel"

Story from Jam Press (Witchcraft Then And Now) // Pictured: Hope. // Starving boy at the brink of death who went viral in horrific photo reveals how his life has changed since he was saved // A few years ago, a viral photo prompted international outcry and broke hearts around the world. The image, taken on the 30 of January 2016, shows Anja Ringgren Lovén kneeling down to feed water to a severely malnourished boy named Hope, after rescuing him in Nigeria. In a beautiful turnaround, new photos have now been shared of Hope looking healthy and happy – with Jam Press getting exclusive insight into his journey over the past five years. Today, the young boy who despite all odds survived his traumatic past is thriving. Like so many children in Nigeria, Hope – whose exact age is unknown but whom doctors believe is around six or seven – was abandoned on the streets and left to die by his parents, after the pair accused him of being a witch. “Hope was in a terrible condition when we rescued him,” Anja, founder of Land of Hope, a non-profit organisation, told Jam Press. “He was seriously malnourished and had multiple diseases and the first two weeks he was hospitalised he was in a critical condition. "We didn't know if he would survive or not.” Thankfully, he was taken in by Anja, who has helped hundreds of abandoned children over the last eight years Over four years, Hope was given love, care and a proper education by the staff at the organisation, and has undergone an incredible transformation. Anja said: “Hope is very healthy and loves to go to school. He is very intelligent and his passion is art and to be creative. "He is extremely talented at art and many of his paintings have even been sold. We call him our little Picasso.” Hope has never met his parents and the organisation has been unable to track down any of his relatives. Despite his grim start in life, the young boy is able to look at his viral photo with a smile from time to time. "He will often point at it and smile as if he is proud," Anja, who is also an ambassador for the Universal Peace Federation International?, said. “But I know it’s not about pride. Children are born with the ability to forgive. "Children are born with no prejudices. It is when children are taught what to think and not how to think, we fail as a society. “Do we raise Hope to hate his parents that abandoned him, accused him of being a witch and left him alone on the street to die? No, of course not. “Superstition is caused by a lack of structural education, extreme poverty, religious fanaticism and corruption. "No society can develop if its people are deprived of basic human rights such as access to education, health care, and social protection.” Accusations of witchcraft often stem from death or illness in the family, crop failures, employment problems or infertility, and children are in turn made into scapegoats and branded as witches. They are then typically treated like outcasts by members of their village. Anja and her team have rescued more than 300 children and she currently cares for 76 kids in the largest children's centre in West Africa. Among those are girls as young as nine who have been tortured, sexually abused and even buried alive before escaping their horrific fates. She added: “Education is the most powerful investment in a society and the greatest weapon against ignorance. “To solve a problem you need human interaction and communication. Not judgment. “We are very professional in our work. We need to help the villagers and change their mindset. “We enlighten the villagers through advocacy programs in rural areas.” ENDS
Heute ist Hope nicht mehr wiederzuerkennen.
Jam Press, Jam Press

Acht Monate musste Hope Schätzungen zufolge völlig auf sich allein gestellt auf den Straßen seines Dorfes leben. Als Lovén ihn fand, konnte er kaum noch wanken. Hope war in einem furchtbaren Zustand – er war extrem unterernährt, hatte Krankheiten. Im Krankenhaus bekam er Medikamente gegen Würmer und täglich eine Bluttransfusion. Doch dank der engagierten Dänin kämpfte sich der Junge mit kleinen Schritten zurück ins Leben. Heute lebt er gesund und fröhlich in einem Waisenheim für misshandelte Kinder, das Anja Ringgren Lovén mit ihrer Organisation "DINNødhjælp" vor drei Jahren eröffnete. Seine Leidenschaft ist das Malen. „Hope ist gesund und liebt es, zur Schule zu gehen. Er ist sehr intelligent und seine Leidenschaften sind Kunst und kreativ sein“, so die Dänin. "Er ist sehr talentiert und viele seiner Bilder sind schon verkauft worden. Wir nennen ihn unseren kleinen Picasso.“

Neben Hope leben 35 ehemalige Hexenkinder in dem Heim. Und das ist erst der Anfang. „Wir möchten ein Schulzentrum bauen, denn Bildung ist der Schlüssel zum Erfolg. Bildung ist unsere stärkste Waffe gegen diesen Aberglauben“, so Lovén im RTL-Interview. „Wir haben ein Kind gerettet, das hatte eine Axt im Schädel. Andere waren aufgeknüpft und hingen im Bäumen. Manche Kinder waren gefesselt und saßen so tagelang ohne Essen und Trinken da.“ Wer versucht, den Kindern zu helfen, werde angegriffen. Deshalb fährt Lovén auch nur mit Polizeischutz dorthin.

Das traurige Schicksal der Hexenkinder in Nigeria

Story from Jam Press (Witchcraft Then And Now) // Pictured: Hope sitting on Anja Ringgren Lovén’s lap (centre) with some of the children rescued by the Land of Hope charity // Starving boy at the brink of death who went viral in horrific photo reveals how his life has changed since he was saved // A few years ago, a viral photo prompted international outcry and broke hearts around the world. The image, taken on the 30 of January 2016, shows Anja Ringgren Lovén kneeling down to feed water to a severely malnourished boy named Hope, after rescuing him in Nigeria. In a beautiful turnaround, new photos have now been shared of Hope looking healthy and happy – with Jam Press getting exclusive insight into his journey over the past five years. Today, the young boy who despite all odds survived his traumatic past is thriving. Like so many children in Nigeria, Hope – whose exact age is unknown but whom doctors believe is around six or seven – was abandoned on the streets and left to die by his parents, after the pair accused him of being a witch. “Hope was in a terrible condition when we rescued him,” Anja, founder of Land of Hope, a non-profit organisation, told Jam Press. “He was seriously malnourished and had multiple diseases and the first two weeks he was hospitalised he was in a critical condition. "We didn't know if he would survive or not.” Thankfully, he was taken in by Anja, who has helped hundreds of abandoned children over the last eight years Over four years, Hope was given love, care and a proper education by the staff at the organisation, and has undergone an incredible transformation. Anja said: “Hope is very healthy and loves to go to school. He is very intelligent and his passion is art and to be creative. "He is extremely talented at art and many of his paintings have even been sold. We call him our little Picasso.” Hope has never met his parents and the organisation has been unable to track down any of his relatives. Despite his grim start in life, the young boy is able to look at his viral photo with a smile from time to time. "He will often point at it and smile as if he is proud," Anja, who is also an ambassador for the Universal Peace Federation International?, said. “But I know it’s not about pride. Children are born with the ability to forgive. "Children are born with no prejudices. It is when children are taught what to think and not how to think, we fail as a society. “Do we raise Hope to hate his parents that abandoned him, accused him of being a witch and left him alone on the street to die? No, of course not. “Superstition is caused by a lack of structural education, extreme poverty, religious fanaticism and corruption. "No society can develop if its people are deprived of basic human rights such as access to education, health care, and social protection.” Accusations of witchcraft often stem from death or illness in the family, crop failures, employment problems or infertility, and children are in turn made into scapegoats and branded as witches. They are then typically treated like outcasts by members of their village. Anja and her team have rescued more than 300 children and she currently cares for 76 kids in the largest children's centre in West Africa. Among those are girls as young as nine who have been tortured, sexually abused and even buried alive before escaping their horrific fates. She added: “Education is the most powerful investment in a society and the greatest weapon against ignorance. “To solve a problem you need human interaction and communication. Not judgment. “We are very professional in our work. We need to help the villagers and change their mindset. “We enlighten the villagers through advocacy programs in rural areas.” ENDS
Anja Ringgren Lovén mit Hope (im Bild links neben ihr) und anderen geretteten Hexenkindern.
Jam Press, Jam Press

In Nigeria, dem bevölkerungsreichsten Land Afrikas (177 Millionen Einwohner), kümmert sich Anja Ringgren Lovén in der Region Akwa Ibom seit Beginn um die sogenannten Hexenkinder: in vielen Gemeinden Nigerias werden ausgewählte Kinder stigmatisiert und aus der Gemeinschaft ausgeschlossen, misshandelt oder sogar getötet. Als Art des Exorzismus werden einige Kinder mit kochendem Wasser übergossen. Wenn sie dabei nicht sterben und die Gemeinden immer noch der Meinung sind, das Ritual habe nicht geholfen, werden sie weiter gequält.

Laut der letzten UNICEF-Schätzungen wurden in afrikanischen Staaten wie Nigeria oder Gambia innerhalb von einem Jahrzehnt zehntausende Kinder als Hexen verstoßen. Die zweifache Mutter Anja Ringgren Lovén gründete vor drei Jahren ein Waisenheim in Uyo und betreut dort misshandelte Kinder liebevoll. Dort werden nicht nur die körperlichen Blessuren der Kinder medizinisch behandelt, es wird auch großer Wert auf eine fundierte Schul- und Ausbildung gelegt. Mit Spenden soll ein Zentrum gebaut werden, in dem die Kinder musisch und kreativ geschult werden und auch auf den Einstig in das Berufsleben vorbereitet werden. Auch die Stiftung „RTL Wir helfen Kindern“ konnte mit den Spenden der Zuschauer helfen – 2017 wurde ein Bildungszentrum in Lovéns Waisenhaus finanziert.

Nigeria
Afrika