Land of Hope
I’d like to share about an organization that is dedicated to an issue very important to me. Land of Hope is a nonprofit working to rescue children in Nigeria from abandonment, torture, and death caused by societal superstitions of witchcraft.
Belief in witchcraft is strong in Nigeria. Religion, poverty, and misfortune lead people to accuse others of being witches who are inflicting harm. Within the last few decades accusation towards children has grown alarmingly worse. Children labeled as witches are subjected to unthinkable abuses.
Land of Hope was founded by Anja Ringgren Lovén, who with her husband, David Umem, has built a permanent center for rescued “witch children” on 3 acres in the Nigerian state of Akwa Ibom. It is West Africa’s largest private children’s center.
To date, they have rescued 80 children, who are given a home, care, and education at the Land of Hope center. In addition to raising the children in a safe and loving environment, their mission is to ultimately end the regional superstitions and witch hunting.
Land of Hope tackles this through advocacy drives and education in the community. Their happy and healthy “witch children” go on home visits to remain connected and demonstrate to their families that they are lovable children - not witches.
I have for a while now wished to find a way to help any children in need. Ever since this photo publicly surfaced of Anja rescuing her first child, Hope, I have been following the story of their rescues. I feel connected to their care and determination.
It came together for me when I recently began building a new collection of ceramic stools, inspired by African furniture design. After connecting with Anja and her family about it, I am excited to say that we are forming a partnership to have a portion of proceeds from sales of the stool collection go to the Land of Hope.
There will be much more to share about the stool collection soon! In the meantime, please take a look at Land of Hope’s pages to learn more about it. If you would like to donate to them directly you can do so through their website.
All photos courtesy of Land of Hope