"Esther Stevens' life nearly ended as soon as it began. She was born in 2007, in a village on the outskirts of Abuja, Nigeria's capital city. Her mother died giving birth to her, and in the eyes of some villagers, that meant the baby was cursed. According to tradition, there was only one way to deal with such a child. The villagers tied the newborn to her mother's lifeless body"
"The missionary took Esther to a children's home in Abuja run by a Christian couple, Olusola and Chinwe Stevens, who brought her up as their own. Today, Esther is 18, tall, with a broad smile. She laughs easily and has a quick sense of humour. In Nigeria, children are widely regarded as gifts from God or the spirit world, but according to some traditional belief systems, certain children were once thought to bring misfortune."
"In parts of southern Nigeria, particularly among the Igbo, twins and triplets were feared. Although these beliefs have largely faded, in isolated pockets of the country, they persist. In some of these communities, says the human rights activist Leo Igwe, the death of the mother in childbirth is believed to be the fault of the child. The couple who run the children's home where Esther grew up have been confronting these practices since 1996."
Esther was born in 2007 in a village near Abuja and nearly buried alive after her mother died in childbirth because some villagers believed the baby was cursed. A Nigerian missionary intervened, and Esther was taken to a children's home run by Olusola and Chinwe Stevens, who raised her. Certain traditional belief systems in parts of Nigeria have treated children with albinism, deformities, disabilities, and multiples as omens or bringers of misfortune. Those beliefs persist in isolated pockets, where some communities still blame infants for maternal death and have killed children by poisoning, starvation, or burial. The Stevenses have confronted such practices since 1996.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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