Anja Ringgren Lovén

In 2012, the keynote speaker Anja Ringgren Lovén founded her own aid and relief organisation, Land of Hope. A decision that arose as a direct consequence of her experiences as a relief worker in Malawi, the previous year. She gave up her job as a shop manager in 2011 to travel to Africa, where she became an observer and relief worker for three months. The experience of seeing such extreme poverty and starvation, is something she will never forget. She therefore decided that for the rest of her life, she will fight against poverty and famine in Africa and help the world’s poorest towards a better life.

Land of Hope has, for more than three years, helped children in Nigeria that have been accused of being witches. Along with her Nigerian husband, Anja runs a children’s home for the so-called ‘Witch Children’, who without help usually end up living a lonely life on the streets, which most of which don’t survive.

Accusations of Witchcraft are a growing problem in many African countries, especially in Nigeria. The reason for the accusations can arise from a variety of sources such as a death or sickness within the family, crop failures, or infertility. According to traditional African beliefs, there is a supernatural explanation to many of the events in life and it is children who are often made to be the scapegoats.