The boy from Ada Foah who became a witness.

i am Mershack Kabu Aklie, known to many as CowrieKing — a Ghanaian storyteller, photographer, educator, humanitarian, cultural preservationist, and founder of Eyes of Hope Foundation.

But before all of that, I was simply a boy from Ada Foah, trying to understand people, beauty, struggle, and purpose.

I am the first son of my father and second child of my mother, raised between the Volta River and the Atlantic Ocean — in a place where survival teaches you responsibility early, and culture becomes your first teacher.

I grew up speaking Dangme, learning not only from school, but from fishermen, market women, elders, and everyday people whose lives carried wisdom no classroom could teach.

Long before photography, I loved art.

I drew.

I painted.

I created things I never thought my own hands could create.

I cooked from an early age and found joy in making beauty from simple things. Deep inside me, I always wanted to become some kind of artist.

But like many African parents, mine wanted something different for me — something secure.

At a time when artists were not respected, creativity felt uncertain. So I slowly let go of parts of my inner gifts to pursue a future that felt safer for the people who loved me.

Yet the artist inside me never disappeared.

The observer stayed.

The healer stayed.

The empath stayed.

Over the years, I worked with many local and international organizations. What I saw changed me forever.

I watched communities become stories for fundraising, while very little reached the people themselves.

I saw outsiders decide what communities needed without first understanding the strength, knowledge, and systems already existing within them.

That experience taught me something important:

Africa does not lack knowledge.

Africa needs people willing to help communities build on what they already have.

We are rich in wisdom.

Rich in culture.

Rich in resilience.

What many communities lack is opportunity, access, and genuine support.

So I began helping in the little ways I could.

Sometimes through listening.

Sometimes through encouragement.

Sometimes through food.

Sometimes through my own money.

Then something unexpected happened through photography.

After taking photographs, people trusted me.

We talked.

We laughed.

Sometimes they cried.

Sometimes they shared stories they had never shared with anyone.

Strangers became family.

And without planning it, I found myself helping many of the very people I photographed.

Not because I had much.

But because I could not ignore what I felt.

I realized I had an eye — not only for photography — but for discovering hidden talent, forgotten beauty, vulnerability, and human potential.

I do not just see faces.

I see possibility.

I see gifts waiting for someone to believe in them.

That became the beginning of my deeper mission.

Today, my work exists at the intersection of photography, culture, storytelling, humanitarian work, and healing.

Through Eyes of Hope Foundation, I work to uplift vulnerable communities, preserve African identity, support children and families, and turn storytelling into meaningful action.

Because for me, a photograph should not simply be beautiful.

It should heal.

It should preserve memory.

It should restore dignity.

It should create opportunity.

I am deeply cultural.

Deeply traditional.

An empath by nature.

A healer in spirit.

A bridge between worlds — between Africa and the diaspora, tradition and technology, storytelling and action.

My mission is simple:

To use art, photography, culture, and compassion to remind people that no human being is invisible.

If you collaborate, donate, partner, or support this journey, know this:

You are not simply supporting photography.

You are helping preserve culture.

Protect memory.

Discover hidden talent.

Support vulnerable lives.

And build a world where humanity matters again.

Welcome to CowrieKing.

Welcome to Eyes of Hope.

Welcome to the journey.