Leading the fight against superstition
Land of Hope saves “witch children”. But our work is about much more than that. We want to lift some of the world’s poorest communities out of poverty through enlightenment. Only in this way can we truly end superstition.
Root of the problem
94 children live at our Children’s Center, all accused of being witches. We saved their lives, but to save more, we must address the root of the problem; superstition.
Nigeria’s superstitious communities are among the world’s poorest, and despite it being the government’s responsibility to educate and develop all communities, the poorest ones still remain neglected. We aim to empower their position through enlightenment and education, so they can escape poverty – and children no longer become scapegoats.
Long-term change
The change we want to create doesn’t happen overnight. Far from it. So, we patiently take small steps every day towards a safer and more promising future for children in superstitious communities.
We do this by teaching our children about their rights and encouraging them to become independent individuals who contribute to developing their communities. It’s important that the children remain part of the local community. We want the community to realize that the children are healthy, happy, and successful individuals – not witches. Therefore, reintegration and reunification with the family are essential in our work. Keeping the children away from their families will only confirm everyone’s beliefs that the accusations were justified.
We built hope
It’s ingrained in our outlook on the world. It’s part of our name. Hope. We are truly optimistic about the mission we are on, but we’re not seeking random hopeful glimpses. We act.
We build the buildings needed to shelter children at risk. We build relationships with impoverished local communities to gain their trust. And we rebuild the character within our children so they become living proof that superstition has no justification.