Marvelous: The Child the World Had Forgotten

Sometimes, saving a child's life begins with someone simply paying attention. A nurse whose husband owned a poultry farm in a village in Delta State kept hearing something unusual from the nearby forest—a child's faint cries and groans. Curiosity became concern. Concern became action. When she went to investigate, she discovered a severely neglected and abandoned child, barely clinging to life. The community had already given up on him. Many believed he was dead. Even his grandmother could no longer remember his name. But one woman refused to walk away. She reached out to us. By the following morning, we were on our way to Delta State. We found him at a tombstone. Marvelous. For months, insects had crawled over his fragile body while vultures waited for what appeared to be his final breath. Then, for the first time in what may have been months, a human hand touched him—not to harm him, but to rescue him. It Took a Community to Save a Life Marvelous' survival was not the work of one organisation alone. It was the result of collaboration. The Police helped facilitate the protection and rescue process. The Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare played an important role in the child-protection response. Healthcare workers acted swiftly to provide the urgent medical attention he desperately needed. And when his nutritional condition became critical, the Dangote Group responded by providing four cartons of Plumpy'Nut, helping give this severely malnourished child a fighting chance. Together, these interventions turned what could have been a funeral story into a survival story. Today, Marvelous Is Alive. He is no longer lying beside a tombstone waiting to die. He lives in a safe and decent environment. He is growing. He is healthier. He is loved. He is being cared for. And, perhaps most importantly, he now knows what every child should know—that his life matters. Marvelous' story reminds us that abandoned children are not hopeless cases. They are children waiting for someone to act. But intervention is only possible when people, communities, government agencies, healthcare professionals, responsible businesses and humanitarian organisations are willing to work together. There Are More Marvelouses Waiting. Some are hidden in communities. Some are abandoned in unsafe places. Some are being neglected behind closed doors. Some are already on the streets. And some may be only one intervention away from survival. As Hold My Hand Foundation transitions into My Safe Home Haven, our commitment remains clear: to raise the living standards of children, vulnerable women and families in dire need. But we cannot do this alone. Your donation can help us reach the next child before it is too late. Your support can help provide emergency rescue, medical care, nutrition, safe shelter, education, psychosocial support and long-term care for abandoned and vulnerable children. Marvelous survived because people chose not to give up on him. Let's make sure the next abandoned child is not forgotten. Donate. Partner. Advocate. Help us save a child. Because every child deserves to be found. Every child deserves to be protected. Every child deserves to be loved. And every child deserves a chance to live. My Safe Home Haven From rescue to restoration. From survival to a future.