From Witch-Hunt Victim To Heartwarming Reunion: Hope’s journey home
On January 30, 2016, Danish aid worker Anja Ringgren Lovén was captured in a photograph as she provided water to a severely emaciated 2-year-old boy.
She had rescued him after his own family had branded him a witch and abandoned him to face starvation in Akwa Ibom.
This young boy had roamed the streets for months until Anja received a phone call. Without hesitation she led a rescue team, which included her husband, David Emmanuel Umem, to bring the child to the Children’s Education and Development Foundation (ACAEDF), also known as the “Land of Hope.”
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Today, on September 5, 2023, Lovén shared heartwarming news on her Facebook page – Hope has finally reunited with his mother.
According to the aid worker, Hope’s mother, who was just a minor at the time, was impregnated by his father, a Village Head nearly 50 years her senior, who had chosen her as his ‘wife.’ She gave birth to Hope at the tender age of 15.
Lovén revealed that this heart-wrenching story involved elements of rape, child labour, and abuse, although she refrained from divulging all the details.
She did not elaborate on the circumstances that led to the boy being branded a witch and left to fend for himself.
In her Facebook post, she wrote, “David Emmanuel Umem and I finally found Hope’s mother! I always believed in my heart that someday we would find her, and now that day has come.”
Earlier this year, while David and I were filming the documentary “Woman at the End of the World,” our years of searching bore fruit.
Millions of people in Poland have already witnessed the moment Hope laid eyes on his mother for the first time, a moment that left everyone in tears.
Lovén went on to say that she had known David for over a decade and had seen him cry only once before. However, when she picked up Hope to reunite him with his mother, she saw David cry for the second time.
“Words cannot express the overwhelming emotions that flooded us in that moment,” she added.
Hope’s mother was a mere 15 years old when she gave birth to him, still a child herself. Meanwhile, his father, the Village Head, was nearing 50 – far from an equal relationship. Unfortunately, such relationships between older men and young girls are all too common in rural communities.
Tragedy struck further when Hope’s mother lost both her parents to illness while she was pregnant. She had to shoulder the responsibility of caring for them and her newborn son, whom she named Steven (Hope’s real name).
Despite her challenging circumstances, Hope’s mother stayed at the Land of Hope and developed a close bond with her son. It took some time but Hope eventually forgave her. In Hope’s story, his mother is portrayed as innocent – she never abandoned him in the village to perish.
Regrettably, she was compelled to leave the village when she became pregnant with Hope’s younger brother, Daniel, at the age of just 16. She was sent to Lagos, and this part of the story involves rape, child labour, and abuse, making it difficult for Lovén to disclose all the details.
The most significant aspect is that Hope and his mother have been reunited.
In closing, Lovén shared a personal note, revealing that when she was pregnant with her own son, David had suggested they name him Steven.
