Akwa Ibom boy, Hope, who was abandoned by his family on the allegation of being a wizard has reunited with his mum seven years after Dutch woman Anja Lovén found him.
Lovén, founder of Land of Hope, broke the news on Tuesday via social media.
“Hope´s mother was only 15 years old when she gave birth to Hope. She was still a child herself,” she wrote.
“Hope´s father was at that time nearly 50 years old and he was the Village Head. Definitely not an equal relationship. Unfortunately, it is very common for men in the rural communities to take any young girl they want to be their wife.”
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She revealed that Hope’s real name is Steven.
“Hope’s mother has stayed at Land of Hope and Hope has developed a close bond with her. It took him some time to forgive her but in Hope’s story his mother is innocent. She never left him in the village to die,” Lovén said.
“She was forced to leave the village when she got pregnant with Hope´s younger brother Daniel at the age of only 16 years old. She was sent to Lagos and this entire story involves rape, child labour and abuse and I can therefore not reveal all the details.”
This comes a year after Hope met his father.
Lovén got wide attention when a picture of her squatting in front of a small, emaciated “child witch” went viral in 2016. She gave him biscuits and water, picked him up in her arms and took him to a hospital. The Dutch didn’t think he would survive.
