We want to say right away that this is a real story: The boy comes from Nigeria, the woman in the photo is Anja Ringgren Lovén. The photos show these two people, even if they had changed over the course of a year.

These photos have been circulating on social media for several years. They have been used for clickbait many times and have always been spun with a variety of stories. In December 2016, colleague Jens a very detailed article that sheds light on the background of the photos and the clickbait that is or was being done with them.

Now the images have been shared again on the My Modern Met Facebook page and linked to an article from 2017 that tells the story behind the photos.

The boy in the photo was accused of witchcraft and cast out. The Danish development worker Anja Ringgren Lovén, who can be seen with the boy in the photos, took care of the abandoned 2-year-old and gave him the name Hope. Ringgren Lovén is the founder of DINNødhjælp / Land of Hope . This is a voluntary association and fights for children's rights. Their main task is to give so-called “witch children” who, like Hope, were rejected, a new life.

Appeal to the Nigerian government

Anja Ringgren Lovén herself encourages everyone to always share the now very well-known photo of her and Hope with the story behind it:

“I think it's safe to say that the picture of me giving water to Hope has become one of the most shared pictures in the world.
When you share the image, please also remember to tell the story.

The story of how an innocent child was abandoned and left to die because he was accused of being a witch. Every year so many children are accused of being witches.
Often it is boys who are targeted because boys play rougher and get into trouble. Even stubbornness is seen as witch-like behavior. Younger boys are also not very useful around the house, unlike girls who help with cooking and cleaning from an early age.
For this reason, 67 boys and 21 girls live at Land of Hope.
Accusing children of being witches has become a means of explaining away misfortunes and hardships such as death, divorce or illness in families and communities.

Lack of education leads to limited knowledge of disease, which, combined with strong cultural beliefs, leads people to look for superstitious answers.

It is time for the Nigerian government to take responsibility. […]"

Anja Ringgren Lovén, Facebook

All clickbait or “Amen” posts have one thing in common: the creators work with poignant images that appeal to our inner instincts, primarily our compassion. However, there is no question that a comment with the four letters “Amen” would not have helped the boy. That’s why hats off to Anja Ringgren Lovén and all the other “silent” heroes who make the lives of individuals so much better. – Their stories deserve to be told!

Source: My Modern Met , Land of Hope

You might also be interested in: No, a school district in Texas didn't ban Anne Frank and the Bible from libraries!


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )