On the morning of January 1, 2000, Capetown, South Africa was quiet. While most people slept off the millennium celebration, we drove through the empty city streets, filming our passage for a video project.

At that time, Ian and I worked for Mercy Ships, a fleet of hospital ships that provide free cataract surgeries and tumor-removals in developing nations. Our role, in the ship’s communications department, revolved around recording the patients’ stories and documenting the progress of various construction projects and clinics. When the ship docked in more developed ports like Capetown, our roles shifted to educating and informing the public about the ship’s mission.

On the first day of the new millennium, Ian seized the silent streets as a prime filming opportunity. We wove our car slowly through the roads until a small alley suddenly caught my attention. Stopping, we found five boys camped out on a cement stoop. They greeted us with glazed eyes and slurred words. Clutching rags soaked in kerosene and glue, they sniffed the fumes and picked at scabs on their arms. We brought them food from a nearby restaurant and sat beside them.

After a half hour, we had to leave... frustrated. These youth needed more than a few compassionate moments, more than the slivers of time and tenderness we left them with. They ached for escape and permanence - a home, parents, hope.

Two years later, Ian and I were living in Connecticut, wrestling with prayers and dreams, deliberating on our upcoming direction. We considered returning to work in developing nations. We knew the needs - extreme poverty, severe injustice, and lack of basic resources.

As we wrestled with this decision, our minds kept returning to the boys on Capetown’s streets. We could go back there...adopt them or start an orphanage. Either way, we knew our assistance would stretch only as far and wide as our four hands could reach.

Directly our four hands could make a difference, but what if we applied our efforts and abilities towards creating awareness? Utilizing the creative arts to tell the story of these boys, the story of those who are overlooked or oppressed, the work of our four hands could inspire the involvement and resources of four hundred hands, or more!