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

Daniel’s story:

The standards of ethical orphan care are clear and straightforward: preserve and reunify families whenever possible, and when that is not possible, ensure that every child has the permanence of a family through adoption or foster care.

But straightforward does not always mean easy.

Daniel’s mother lives with a mental illness that prevents her from being able to care for him. He has lived at the Mwana Refuge since he was an infant. And yet, even when circumstances prevent reunification, the bond between them remains.

The days Daniel’s mother comes to visit feel sacred.

There is little conversation between them. She always brings him a small treasure, like this umbrella, and then they simply sit together, allowing the bond to fill the space.

Mwana cannot change every circumstance. But we can protect what matters within them. We can make room for this mother and son to know one another, to love one another and to preserve the unbreakable, unmatchable bond between a mother and her child.