Fine art print on 1.5” gallery wrap canvas, black border edges.

Papa Lakis’ story:

At two years old, the children of the Téké tribe would lie down, banana leaves lain on their face, and a sharp razor would make deep cuts along the leaf lines. This marked forever that they were members of the royal tribe. It's a practice that is now mostly a thing of the past, but one look at Papa Lakis and it’s clear: he’s of the royal Téké tribe.

Anywhere we go in Congo, the Téké name Laki-Laka speaks status. Honor and dignity are given immediately and freely because of this royal ancestry. But Papa Lakis, figurative head of Mwana and father to its founder, bears the identity of child of the Eternal King.

In Congo, the status of “orphan” is perhaps the most damning title, for it results in permanent societal marginalization. Many children arrive to the Refuge having been abandoned with no known name. We have the humble privilege to choose a new name for these children, and each is given the same last name: Laki-Laka, the name of royalty.

No longer are you an orphan. You, precious child, are a child of The King.