Care worker who saved ‘Nigerian witch boy’ says he is like a son to her

'I was so sick to my bones to see a two-year-old boy in such a horrible condition' - Anja Ringgren Loven

Anja Ringgren Loven carries Hope to the hospital (Anja Ringgren Lovén/Facebook)

A care worker who saved a starving Nigerian toddler derided as a "witch boy" has spoken about their bond and his recovery.

Anja Ringgren Loven, from Denmark, first saw the two-year-old in south-east Nigeria, where he was riddled with worms and struggled to stand.

He had been rejected by his family for being a "witch". She named him Hope.

"I was so sick to my bones to see a two-year-old boy in such a horrible condition," she told MailOnline.

"When we first entered the village I looked over my shoulders and slowly turned around to see Hope sitting on the side of the road.

"I thought I was going to see a bigger boy but when I saw he was the size of a little baby, my whole body froze.

"I became a mother myself 20 months ago and I was thinking of my own son when I saw Hope."


 Anja Ringgren Loven gives water to Hope, 2, after finding the emaciated boy wandering the streets 
 (Anja Ringgren Lovén/Facebook)

The boy had been homeless for eight months before Ms Loven and her team rescued him in January.

He was taken to hospital on the same day as his rescue where doctors found he had contracted a series of diseases.

Ms Loven said: "He got the best treatment we could give him, and everyday my team and I was hoping that he would survive.

"Very quickly we discovered that Hope was a very strong boy, a little fighter."

She added that when she and her husband, David, took their son into the hospital to meet him - it was the first time she saw Hope smile.

Hope has been living at the children's foundation for two months (Anja Ringgren Lovén/Facebook)

Hope has now been living for two months at a home run by the children's foundation run by the Lovens which is dedicated to helping "witch" children.

"Once a child has been accused of being a witch, there is no turning back," Ms Loven said. "Villagers will call for the child to be exorcised nightly by a local priest to rid him his evil spirits or the parents will bring the child to a witch doctor, who also has 'magical powers' to exorcise the witch."

The foundation, the African Children’s Aid Education and Development Foundation, have been unable to find out what caused Hope's banishment.