Nigerian boy, now named Hope, was emaciated and riddled with worms when he was discovered naked and wandering the streets by Anja Ringgren Loven. Photo / Anja Ringgren Loven Facebook
Nigerian boy, now named Hope, was emaciated and riddled with worms when he was discovered naked and wandering the streets by Anja Ringgren Loven. Photo / Anja Ringgren Loven Facebook
This is the heartbreaking moment a starving 2-year-old Nigerian boy is given water by a charity worker after his family left him for dead because they thought he was a witch.
The boy, now named Hope, was emaciated and riddled with worms after being forced to live off scraps thrown to him by passers-by for eight months.
He was finally rescued after being discovered naked and wandering the streets on January 31 by Anja Ringgren Loven, a Danish woman living in Africa.
Ms Loven held him in her arms before taking him to the nearest hospital for treatment. Photo / Anja Ringgren Loven Facebook
Horrified by Hope's condition, Ms Loven began feeding him and giving him water from her bottle.
She then wrapped the disorientated and sick toddler in a blanket, holding him in her arms, before taking him to the nearest hospital for treatment.
Ms Loven founded the African Children's Aid Education and Development Foundation three years ago to help children who have been labelled witches and neglected and even killed by the members of their community.
"Thousands of children are being accused of being witches and we've seen torture of children, dead children and frightened children," she wrote on Facebook, accompanying images of her feeding the young boy and appealing for donations to help pay for his medical bills.
When Hope reached the hospital he was given medication to remove the worms from his belly and daily blood transfusions to incorporate more red blood cells into his body. Photo / Anja Ringgren Loven Facebook
When Hope reached the hospital he was given medication to remove the worms from his belly and daily blood transfusions to give him more red blood cells, Ms Loven said.
"Hope's condition is stable now. He's taking food for himself and he responds to the medicine he gets. Today, he has had powers to sit up and smiling at us. He's a strong little boy."
Ms Loven said Hope even plays with her own son.
Ms Loven said Hope (left) even plays with her own son, David Jr (right) when they visit him. Photo / Anja Ringgren Loven Facebook
"I just don't know how to describe it in words. This is what makes life so beautiful and valuable and therefore I will let the pictures speak for themselves," she said.
Two days after Ms Loven asked for the community's help with Hope's costly medical bills, she received $1 million in donations from around the world.
"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," she said.
Ms Loven runs a children's center where the children she saves live and received medical care, food and schooling. Photo / Anja Ringgren Loven Facebook
Ms Loven runs a children's centre where the children she saves live and receive medical care, food and schooling.
She and her husband, David Emmanuel Umem, began building their own orphanage in late January.
