It is now three years since a young girl who was about to be burnt to death after being branded a witch in Eket, Akwa Ibom was rescued by Danish aid worker, Anja Ringgren Loven.
Anja Ringgren Loven who shared the photos on Tuesday to celebrate the young girl named Queen, said that although the scars on her body will never go away, Queen has undergone a tremendous personal development and recovery after struggling with low self esteem, sadness and physical pain.
Ms Loven described Queen as a “very strong young woman” who is so good on the football field that it is not easy to dribble past her.
She wrote:
“On the 8 of August 2018 I shared the story of Queen. At that time she had been with us for 1 year,” she wrote.
“So today Queen has been with us for exactly 3 years. Queen’s story is very horrible. David Emmanuel Umem and our team rescued her just before she was burned to death. Queen was very terrified and weak when she came to Land of Hope after several treatments at the hospital. 70% of her body were burned and she was in so much pain
“The scars on her body will never go away. It’s a constant reminder of the attack.
And it has not been easy for Queen to overcome her challenges and regain her strength. After her rescue she isolated herself in her room and struggled with social and communication problems.
“Queen had trouble connecting with the other children at Land of Hope, making friends and understanding what was expected of her in social situations. All as a result of her being attacked and abused.
“But as most of you already know, at Land of Hope we have the best team in the world, led by Nsidibe Orok our Director of Child Development. Once Queen came under the wings of Orok and all our teachers, medical staff and social carers, Queen embarked on a tremendous personal development.
“3 years ago Queen had a very low self-esteem and increased sadness. She was often irritable and acted out. She had no motivation and was not very social. Today it is the total opposite ! Queen loves to go to school and she is very social. She will come to me many times a day and just talk talk talk
“Queen is now a very strong young woman and on the football field it is not easy to dribble past her. She has so much determination to be the best and she smiles all the time. She has totally regained her strenght and on this new picture of Queen her self-esteem just oozes out of her
“Not only do we have the best team in the world, we also have the best supporters in the world Without YOU we will not be able to rescue children and to save lives. For ONLY 14 Euro a year you can become a member of Land of Hope and support Queen and the rest of our 75 children at Land of Hope and give them all a better future”
