Anja Ringgren Lovén, a Danish humanitarian, shared the story of how she saved two children from death in Akwa Ibom State, following accusations of witchcraft.
“It’s been almost 11 years since we rescued Ekong and Mary. We found them abandoned, beaten, and burned with hot iron inside a bush,” wrote the 45-year-old Denmark-born Anja Ringgren on her foundation’s instagram page.
“They would not have lived long if we had not found them. The community accused both of them of being witches.”
Since 2012, Land of Hope has led the war against witchcraft accusations and other such assaults motivated by superstition in Nigeria.
Lovén disclosed that the child survivors had since grown into adults, pursuing their career choices.
“Mary began her studies at university last year and she is a brilliant student. She is a role model to our younger children at Land of Hope. Her biggest dream to become a lawyer one day,” she said.
“Ekong is working as an intern in an electronic store. He loves to fix electronic devices. When his internship is over his dream is to have his own shop one day.”
She frowned at the increasing rate of witchcraft accusations in Nigeria’s communities due to “poverty and ignorance”.
UNICEF estimates that around 15,000 to 20,000 children are accused of witchcraft every year in Nigeria. Although witchcraft branding is common across Nigeria, studies show that it is particularly prevalent pronounced in the country’s south-south region.
Like Mary and Ekong, these children are often tortured, beaten, starved and discriminated against. Most of the children, who bear the scars into adulthood, continue to grapple with depression.
Anja Ringgren Lovén, a Danish humanitarian, shared on Instagram the rescue story of two children, Ekong and Mary, in Akwa Ibom State accused of witchcraft. Abandoned and severely abused, both children were saved by Lovén’s foundation, Land of Hope, which combats witchcraft accusations since 2012. Today, Mary is a university student aspiring to be a lawyer, while Ekong is an intern at an electronic store with dreams of opening his own shop.
Lovén highlighted the increasing witchcraft accusations due to poverty and ignorance in Nigeria, with UNICEF estimating 15,000 to 20,000 children accused annually, particularly in the south-south region. These children often face severe abuse and long-term psychological trauma.
