1:23 a.m. on Saturday, April 26, 1986, there was not a sound in Andes, NY. The only movement was from the single flashing stoplight in the small village in upstate New York. Andes is a town with one general store and a high school that averages a graduating class of 12.

At 1:23 a.m. on Saturday, April 26, 1986, a violent explosion ripped apart a reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Soviet Ukraine, along the border of the Republic of Belarus.

After four years of suppressing the grave consequences of the tragedy, the Soviet government turned to the United Nations for international aid. A few weeks later, CitiHope International, which is centered in Andes, began a mission to bring both spiritual and medical hope to the children of Chernobyl.

CitiHope not only sends aid in the form of money, medical supplies, and food, but more importantly, they dedicate themselves to reach out and personally help the victims.

CitiHope has already changed the lives of many of the 2.2 million people suffering from the nuclear explosion; and everyday, they try to figure out ways to help more and more people, especially the 45,000 children that are suffering. Although I do plan to photograph the preparation that CitiHope goes through for each relief mission, I will be focusing on the volunteer's efforts in Belarus.

A story about CitiHope will not only show how such a small organization can reach out to a community thousands of miles away and affect so many people, but it would also show the tragic effects of nuclear power -- even ten years later.