14-year-old boy, identified as Hope Akpan, has finally reunited with his mother, seven years after he was branded a witch and left to starve to death in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.

Hope was just seven years old when his family abandoned him in the forest, believing that he was a witch. He survived by begging for food and sleeping in the streets. He was eventually rescued by a human rights group, Captive Free Foundation, and taken to a safe house.

On January 30, 2016, Danish aid worker Anja Ringgren Lovén went viral on the internet when she was photographed feeding water to a severely emaciated 2-year-old boy.

She had rescued the child after he was labeled a witch by his family and left to starve to death in Akwa Ibom.

The young boy had roamed the streets for several months before Anja received a distressing phone call, prompting her to lead a rescue team, including her husband David Emmanuel Umem, to bring the child to the Children’s Education and Development Foundation (ACAEDF), also known as the “Land of Hope.”

In a new development, Lovén took to her Facebook page on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, to reveal that Hope has finally reunited with his mother.

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According to the aid worker, Hope’s mother, who was a minor at the time, was impregnated by his father, a Village Head who was nearly 50 years old, after he picked her as his ‘wife’. She gave birth to Hope when she was just 15 years old.

Lovén mentioned that the entire story was fraught with rape, child labor, and abuse, and opted not to share all the details.

She also did not disclose the circumstances that led to the boy being branded a witch and abandoned.

Read her post below:

“David Emmanuel Umem and I finally found Hope´s mother !!

I knew in my heart that someday we would find her – now we have!

Earlier this year while David and I were filming the new documentary “Woman at the End of the World” our years of search finally ended.

Millions of people in Poland have already witnessed the moment Hope sees his mother for the first time and it left them all in tears.

I have known David for more than a decade and only seen him cry one time.

When I picked up Hope to take him to see his mother who were waiting for him under our mango tree I saw David cry for the second time.

Word´s cannot express the emotions that overwhelmed us in that moment.

Hope´s mother was only 15 years old when she gave birth to Hope. She was still a child herself

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.

While being pregnant Hope´s mother had to take care of her parents who both were very sick. After giving birth to Hope they both died

At the age of 15 years old, Hope´s mother lost her parents and had to take care of Hope being a child herself.

She named her baby Steven. Hope´s real name is Steven.

Hope´s mother has stayed at Land of Hope and developed a close bond with Hope. 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

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 send to Lagos and this entire story involves rape, child labor and abuse and I can therefore not reveal all the details.

What´s important is that Hope and his mother are reunited. Ps: When I was pregnant with our son, David suggested we name him Steven.”

See her post below,

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