Land of Hope founder Anja Ringgren Lovén has received the Global Love of Life Award in Taiwan in recognition of her many years of humanitarian work for children in Nigeria.

The award is presented by the Chou Ta-Kuan Cultural and Educational Foundation in Taiwan, which each year honours people from around the world for their extraordinary commitment to others. Anja was one of more than 20 international recipients invited to Taiwan to receive the award.

For Anja, the award is an international recognition of the work she has helped build in Nigeria for more than a decade.

It started in Nigeria
Shortly after Anja and her team had been attacked during a visit to a Nigerian village, Land of Hope received visitors from Taiwan.

Mr. and Mrs. Chou, founders of the Chou Ta-Kuan Cultural and Educational Foundation, travelled to Nigeria with their son Jason. They wanted to see Land of Hope’s work first-hand and tell Anja that she had been selected to receive the foundation’s Global Love of Life Award.

Six months later, Anja travelled the other way.

In September 2026, she travelled to Taiwan with her sisters and her son, David Jr., to receive the award and take part in an extensive programme alongside more than 20 other recipients from around the world.

International attention for Land of Hope’s work
The award recipients were not simply invited to an official ceremony. Over the course of ten days, they travelled around Taiwan, visiting schools, cultural institutions and official events where they were given the opportunity to talk about the causes they have dedicated their lives to.

“They did not use the award to put the spotlight on themselves, but on our work. I have never experienced anything quite like it before,” says Anja.

For Land of Hope, this meant introducing a completely new audience to the organisation’s work with children accused of witchcraft in Nigeria.

Among other activities, Anja spoke to Taiwanese school students and took part in meetings and events where she explained why children are accused of witchcraft, how Land of Hope carries out rescue missions, and why long-term efforts to combat harmful superstition are so important.

She also met Taiwan’s Vice President, Hsiao Bi-khim.

Attention can make a difference
The international attention is an important part of what the award means for Land of Hope.

The Global Love of Life Award is not only a recognition of Anja Ringgren Lovén. It also helps raise awareness of the children Land of Hope works for and of the devastating consequences of witchcraft accusations and superstition.

The Global Love of Life Award joins a number of international and Danish honours Anja Ringgren Lovén has received for her humanitarian work over the years.

For Land of Hope, the award is especially valuable because it brings renewed attention to children whose stories rarely reach an international audience.

“The world is full of crises, and it is not easy to draw attention to the children in Nigeria. That is why it means so much every time we are given a platform to tell their stories,” says Anja.

An award alone cannot change the life of a child who has been accused of witchcraft. But it can help more people understand that the problem exists.

And that awareness can help generate the support Land of Hope needs to continue rescue missions, provide care and education, and carry out the long-term awareness work needed to challenge harmful superstition.

Would you like to give Anja a platform to speak about the children and the fight against superstition? Book Anja for a talk and help bring attention to an issue that is still unknown to many.