Etim Effiong
Abandoned by his parents on the allegation of witchcraft, a soon to be five years old boy, who has been renamed Hope his rescuer, will celebrate his 5th birthday on January 30, 2021.
Hope was rescued on January 30, 2016 by Anja Ringgren Lovén, a Danish humanitarian worker, and David Umem, who run the African Children’s Aid Education and Development Foundation, a charity organisation dedicated to helping abandoned children.
It was learnt that the boy had was homeless for eight months, surviving on scraps and whatever he could find, before he was discovered.
Hope’s story went viral after the Danish woman shared heart-breaking photographs showing an emaciated boy.
Lovén, on Sunday in a Facebook post, shared her excitement at the boy’s story, sharing more photographs of the transformation.
“In exactly 40 days today, we are going to celebrate that Hope was rescued 5 years ago. To be exact, Hope was rescued on the 30 of January 2016.
“I cannot wait 40 days to share these pictures of Hope 😂 He is simply to cute and handsome 😍.
“Last week Hope was best man at Don Udowan, our Education officer’s wedding and Hope just shined like a little star 🌟🌟 .
“Looking back, it’s hard to believe that 5 years have already passed. I remember the day we rescued Hope as if it was yesterday.
“As most of you know I have the name HOPE tattooed on my fingers. A tattoo I got many years ago even long before I ever travelled to Nigeria. Because for more than a decade now it’s been my mission in life to: Help One Person Everyday: HOPE 🌟 .
“Many of you have been following our work since we rescued Hope and witnessed his amazing transformation. He is a SURVIVOR and one day he will be old enough to travel the world and tell his story.
“We owe everything to you, our followers, sponsors, supporters and members.”