Anja Ringgren Lovén

Anja Ringgren Lovén is the founder of the charity organization DINNødhjælp, which has been protecting and rescuing children accused of being witches in Nigeria since 2012. Lovén became known in 2016 when a photo from one of her rescue actions of witch children went viral[1] In the picture, Anja squats in front of a small naked and starved boy, who she gives water with her water bottle. Anja subsequently took the boy to a children's center in Nigeria, where he miraculously survived. She named him Hope, and the rescue operation became a major catalyst in Lovén's struggle to tell the rest of the world about witch children and the superstition that prevailed in Nigeria.[2]

Anja Ringgren Lovén
Born1978 (age 41–42)
Frederikshavn, Denmark
OccupationCharity worker
Known forFounding DINNødhjælp
Fighting witchcraft accusations in Nigeria
ChildrenDavid Emmanuel Umem Jr.

Career

She graduated from Frederikshavn Gymnasium in 1998. After high school, Lovén traveled with her twin sister to Israel in Kibbutz and spent the following couple of years traveling around the Middle East. In 2001, she was trained as a stewardess at Maersk Air, but six months later Lovén quit her job to look after her mother, who was declared terminal with lung cancer. After her mother's death, Lovén first moved to Aalborg in 2002 and a few years later to Aarhus, where she got a job in a clothing store in Bruun's Gallery. Later, she became store manager in the Butler Loft.

In 2009, she travelled to Malawi as an observer for the National Church Aid for three months. When she returned home, she began to raise money for a school renovation project in Tanzania, where she traveled on her own. In 2012, she founded DINNødhjelp,[3] while working as a salesman in the clothing store RAW in Aarhus. The following year, she quit her job and sold everything she owned to pursue her dream of saving the so-called 'witch children' in Nigeria who are accused of being witches and ostracized or tortured to death because of the widespread superstition in Nigeria.

In 2014, to open an orphanage in Nigeria, Lovén and Nigerian law student David Emmanuel Umem founded DINNet Relief's sister organization African Children's Aid, Education and Development Foundation (ACAEDF).[4]

In 2015, Lovén and Umem bought a large piece of land in the state of Akwa Ibom in Nigeria, where, with the help of Engineers Without Borders, they built the Land of Hope Children's Center with, among other things, a children's hospital and a business school.[5] Land of Hope is a fenced-in, three-acre site with space for 100 children, designed to provide a safe and loving environment for the children and at the same time as an important element in the fight against superstition in the country.[6]

Lovén works and lives alternately in Denmark and Nigeria, where she manages DINNet relief and heads Land of Hope with Umem.

Lovén has been giving lectures since 2014 on what it means to sell everything you own to pursue your dream. In the lectures, she also talks, among other things, about life at the Land of Hope Children's Center and how to bring about the superstition in Nigeria.[7] She is today one of Denmark's most booked speakers.[8]

Personal Life

Anja Ringgren Lovén was born and raised in Frederikshavn.

In her private life, Anja's partner is David Emmanuel Umem, and together they have son David Jr., who was born August 13, 2014.[9]

Documentary interviews

Lovén has starred in several documentaries about her work in Nigeria. Here among Danish documentaries such as:”Helvedes Helte” (DR2),[10] ”En dansker redder verden – Anja Ringgren Lovén” (DR)",[11] ”Anja og Heksebørnene” (DR2)[12] and ”Anjas Afrika” (DR).[13] In addition, in 2018 she co-starred in the German documentary: "Hexenkinder in Nigeria: Diese Heldin corrected ihnen das leben".[14]

Accomplishments
  • 2016 The World's Most Inspiring Person OOOM Magazine[15][16]
  • 2016 Niels Ebbesen Medal[17]
  • 2017 Paul Harris Fellowship[18]
  • Hope Award 2017[19]

In addition, Lovén has been nominated for both Danes of the Year 2017[20] and the Nordjyske Initiative Award 2015.[21]


Lovén's work in Nigeria was recognized by the Dalai Lama, who invited Lovén to India to personally thank and acknowledge the work she is doing in Nigeria. The meeting was broadcast in the documentary "Anja's Orphanage" on DR2 on April 23, 2018.[12][22]

References
  1. "Care worker who rescued starving 'witch child' recreates photo for his first day of school". The Independent. February 3, 2017.
  2. Busari, Stephanie. "Woman who rescues 'witch children' receives top honour". CNN.
  3. "Anja hjælper børn i Afrika". TV2 Nord. November 20, 2015.
  4. "The aid worker who saved a 'witch child' from starvation speaks out". The Independent. February 18, 2016.
  5. "Hun reddede lille Hope: Nyt børnehjem vil hjælpe flere børn som ham - TV 2". nyheder.tv2.dk. August 10, 2016.
  6. "Læs nyhederne på bt.dk". B.T. Nyheder (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  7. "Nigeria optrævler sag om dræbte heksebørn - Kristeligt Dagblad".
  8. "Anja Ringgren Lovén - Afrikas heksebørn | Foredrag i København V | Køb billet på Tikko.dk". web.archive.org. April 20, 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-04-20.
  9. "Anja Ringgren Lovén, who is she?".
  10. "Helvedes Helte på DR2 Anja Lovén i Nigeria". YouTube. 2016-07-27. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  11. "En dansker redder verden". DR.
  12. "Anja og heksebørnene (1:3) | TV | DR". web.archive.org. April 20, 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-04-20.
  13. "VIDEO Danske Anja redder heksebørn: Nu har jeg råbt verden op". DR.
  14. "Galileo - Montag: Hexenkinder in Nigeria: Diese Heldin rettet ihnen das Leben". March 8, 2018 – via www.prosieben.de.
  15. "Danske Anja kåret til verdens mest inspirerende person: Slår Obama og Paven - TV 2". nyheder.tv2.dk. December 6, 2016.
  16. "Nigerian 'witch boy' attends school after being rescued". ABC News. February 4, 2017.
  17. Dittmer, Dorthea (May 23, 2016). "Medalje til heksebørnenes". amtsavisen.dk.
  18. "Klubbens Paul Harris Fellower | Rotary". www.rotary.dk.
  19. "Hope Gala Dresden" (PDF). www.hopegala.de. 2017. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  20. Holm, Line Tolstrup (May 15, 2016). "»Jeg kan ikke redde hele verden. Men jeg kan redde et barn ad gangen«". Berlingske.dk.
  21. Würtz, Julian Drud Sørensen, Trine Mølgaard Jensen;Sarah (March 12, 2015). "Heksebørnenes nordjyske mor". www.nordjyske.dk.
  22. "Dalai Lama til Anja Lovén: Du er min helt". TV2 Nord. September 7, 2017.
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