Baby Hope Is So Adorable But Due For Corrective Surgery

 

A little boy cast out from a community in Akwa Ibom State and branded a witch is looking very different from when he was first rescued by a Danish aid worker. 

Hope was found living in the streets, malnourished and ill with worms.
Now just eight weeks later Anja Ringgren Loven has revealed photos of her new adopted son looking healthy and happy. 

Hope is due to undergo corrective surgery for hypospadias “an inborn condition in which one has an incomplete developed urethra”.

Anja said: "This is an operation the doctors have performed many times, so he will be fine.
“As you can see on the pictures Hope is really enjoying his life now having 35 new brothers and sisters who ALL take such good care of him, play with him, study with him, and make sure he is safe and is getting a lot of love."

People around the world shared the shocking image of a starving Hope sipping from a water bottle, that Anja posted online.
It kick-started an awareness campaign led by the African Children's Aid Education and Development Foundation, founded by Anja. 

Children who are branded as witches are often first done so by their parents.
The superstitious belief sees youngsters abandoned and avoided by their family and villagers alike. 

Violent exorcism rituals are sometimes carried out by African pastors, which can include incarceration, starvation and being forced to drink hazardous substances. 

In recent years the issue has become more prevalent with human rights groups and has attracted considerable international attention. 

More photos of Hope, some of his brothers and his new daddy.

I wonder how his real parents feel now.....