I love reading success stories. I have a few charities I donate to, which are usually charities that help children, and I am most interested in those stories from Africa. A while back, I came across an image that shook me to my core.

In Nigeria, it is unfortunately common for a religious healer in a village to declare a child a witch, at what point the child is left alone to fend for itself and die. Below is an image in 2016, of one such child that was found by a Danish woman named Anja Ringgren Lovén, while in Nigeria.

She rescued him, and realizing the horror that takes place daily in the superstitious country of Nigeria, she started a charity that finds these kids and lets them grow up to live normal lives. She named this little guy Hope, which is fitting. He is doing well and here is what he looks like now.

Here is what Anja says about him today:

Hope survived. He graduated this year and starts secondary school next month.

His story is world famous and every day I look at him and feel so grateful for his incredible development.

If you get to know Hope you are lucky because he is so very unique. Hope is deaf but despite that he is able to communicate using sign language.

Hope graduated primary school with one of the highest grades.

Not only is he very intelligent, he is a talented artist, an excellent dancer, he is very warm and caring and on top of that he has a great sense of humor.

All the above makes me happy but some days it makes me think about the thousands of “Hope’s” out there who we will never get to know.

Never get to know because their lives are short. Once a child is accused of being a witch it’s the end.

But we will never give up. It’s an uphill battle but with your support to Land of Hope we will continue to save lives.

This world is full of ignorance and apathy, even in the civilized country of the US. Because of that, many innocent suffer, and it seems to be the younger ones. It is people like Anja that shines light in the darkness. No amount of darkness can put out the light of even one candle, but that candle has to be lit by at least one person.

The famous Russian author, Leo Tolstoy stated: A political party has never accomplished anything for humanity. Individuals and geniuses have been the pioneers of every reform and of progress.

Anja has opened a center just for rescuing the “witch children” in Nigeria from superstitious idiots. It is hard to fathom the myths found in Africa, but it does still exists, and I fear forever will.