Hello, everyone, I'm a sprouts mother.
When it comes to Africa, people's first impression is that they are poor, backward, and their dark skin looks like it can't be washed clean.
In fact, compared to material poverty, what is really terrible is spiritual poverty, people's ignorance, ignorance, and untimeliness.
In many underdeveloped regions of Africa, there is still a serious superstition that blames "witch boys" for bad things such as illness, poverty, and the death of loved ones, believing that it is the arrival of these unlucky children that will cause them to suffer such hardships.
8 years ago, a photo of the African "begging for water" caused a sensation on the Internet, the scrawny little boy in the photo was once identified as a "witch boy", inauspicious existence, 2 years old was kicked out of the house by his parents, wandering alone for 8 months, living by picking up garbage and leftovers from passers-by.
Although he is two or three years old, he is skinny and bones, weighs no more than 10 pounds, and the wounds all over his body have been infected, and he is in danger of losing his life at any time.
While he was wandering the streets and his life was hanging by a thread, he met a kind white volunteer, fed him water, took him to the doctor, and adopted him to grow up.
Now, 9 years have passed, how is the little African boy who was unbearable to see at the beginning?
The existence of the "witch boy".
The little boy in the photo is named Hope, and he originally had no name, because his birth made the already poor family even worse.
His father happened to be unemployed, and the only earning laborer in the family lost his job opportunity, and the family's financial resources were cut off all at once.
The superstitious parents invited the wizard, who, after a meal, told them that their youngest son was demon-possessed and a "witch boy."
In the perception of some poor Africans, the witch boy is a sinister being, destined to be disliked and abandoned by his parents and relatives.
It can be said that if a child is unfortunate enough to be labeled by this label, then he will live in the darkness of the day, not only will the wizard practice to exorcise the devil in the body of the "witch boy", but will also be abandoned by his parents.
Hope is one of them. Before he was two years old, he was expelled by his parents in an attempt to fend for himself.
Even his parents are not welcome, and the young and helpless little Hope is considered an unfortunate existence wherever he goes, and people spit on him, drive him away, and everyone is afraid to avoid him.
Pity this child, who is not even two years old, wandering alone in the streets, picking up something to eat in the garbage heap; If you are lucky enough to meet someone who is not afraid of the "witch boy", you may get some food and supplies, which is his ration for the past few days.
Just as he was wandering in this world, where the earth was big but there was no place for him, his wound became infected and inflamed, full of insects, and his life was in danger;
At this time, he met a light in his life that not only illuminated the path ahead of him, but also brought him true hope and light.
The arrival of the angels
The kind-hearted girl in the photo is named Anja, who was already a volunteer in Africa at the time.
Anja is a Denmark girl born in 1978 in northern Denmark to a well-to-do family, who had already been admitted to the flight attendant but gave up her studies to take care of her seriously ill mother.
When her mother passed away in 2002, she was devastated and realized that life was short and impermanent, and she felt that she needed to do something worthwhile to live a meaningful life.
By chance, she met those poor "witch boys" abandoned by their parents in Africa, and out of sympathy, she would visit them regularly and donate money to special institutions.
One day in January 2016, when she arrived in Africa again, she saw this dying little African boy on a street corner.
Despite being told that he was a "witch boy" and not to come close, the kind-hearted Anja couldn't help but pull food and water out of her backpack and hand it to the poor, dirty child.
But the little boy was so weak that he couldn't even hold a bottle of mineral water, so Anja quickly opened the water, put it to his mouth, and fed him.
The little boy didn't know what it was, and he resisted at first, but as soon as his chapped lips touched the mouth of the bottle filled with water, his body's instinct suddenly pulled him, and he drank it hungrily.
I saw that his head was slightly extended, and his lips were reluctant to leave once he was facing the mouth of the bottle, so "greedy" and sad.
Apparently, he hadn't drunk water in a long time. For him, this is the sweet spring of life.
Passers-by saw this loving scene, took pictures and posted it on the Internet, which immediately attracted the attention of the whole network and caused an uproar among the crowd.
People don't know that there is still such a backward place in Africa, and there will be biological parents who will listen to rumors and endure to abandon their own flesh and blood and leave them to fend for themselves;
I couldn't believe that his eyes could be so tenacious, that only two little boys with the height of mineral water bottles could wander the streets alone for 8 months.
Adopted and cared for
This little African boy not only touched the hearts of the majority of netizens, but also made Anja, who met for the first time, very relieved.
She fed the little boy food and water, and saw how weak he was, and saw him in her arms; Seeing that his body was dirty, smelly, and crawling with insects, she immediately took him to the local hospital to check on him.
Upon examination by the doctor, it was found that the little boy was not only chronically malnourished, but also suffering from a serious physical illness that would cost a lot of money if he needed treatment.
Anja took out her savings to see a doctor for this poor little boy, for this one-sided relationship, Anja poured everything she had, and did not hesitate to sell her property, and when she was stretched, she also took the initiative to mobilize the majority of netizens on the Internet to raise money for him to see a doctor.
In just two days, Anja raised $1 million in donations, and the boy was treated in time, and he survived.
By this time, Anja had already established a deep relationship with him, and she named the child Hope, after "Hope", wishing him a bright and hopeful life in the future, and all the best.
The current situation is touching
Under Anja's careful care, little Hope grew up healthy and happy.
He had beautiful clothes, no longer covered with clothes, and he gradually ate and ate like all normal children;
When they revisited the old place and took this set of comparative photos, people were relieved to see that little Hope was well taken care of, and he had grown fat and taller.
He had a happy childhood, frolicked and played with his friends, and he especially liked to draw, and had a good talent for painting; He also carried a schoolbag into the school to receive the baptism and watering of knowledge.
In the process of raising Hope, the kind-hearted Anja received funding and praise from enthusiastic netizens, and she increasingly felt that she needed to provide more help to these poor children and save them from fire and water.
Later, she sold her family property in Denmark and established an African children's aid agency, the House of Hope, in Nigeria, Africa, to adopt children who were abandoned by their parents and despised by the world as "witch children".
As of 2022, more than 300 such children have been adopted by Hope Homes. These children, who were once abandoned by the whole world, have been treated well in the home of hope and have found the dignity of a young life.
They are very close to Anja and often surround her, talking and laughing with the grace of a child.
After nine years, little Hope has grown into a little teenager, he is sunny and loves to laugh, and now he is no longer the weak child struggling on the edge of life and death, he has been reborn here.
Influenced by Anja, Hope likes to read and hopes to learn about culture so that she can have the strength to help more people who are suffering in the future.
The German-language magazine Ooom once published an article about Anja: "She is a beacon of hope, and her perseverance in helping bring hope to the children of this land, hoping that people will follow in her footsteps."
I wish Anja to continue to shine in the field she likes, and I hope that children like Little Hope can be blessed by the world and treated gently by the world.
After reading the photos and stories of "The Water Boy", what was your biggest impression?