Ethel Mabala lives in Soweto and has opened her doors for children from Johannesburg addicted to sniffing glue. Ethel cares for them in her home. In return, she asks the children to leave the glue behind and receive God into their hearts. The children who stay get a warm meal and a place to sleep on the ground, and a blanket.

Cohen (b. USA, 1968) met Ethel Mabala in 1994. She decided to photograph the children. These are evocative black and white photographs which exude the atmosphere of the house.

In June, 1999, Cohen went back to South Africa to produce a sequel. She found that Mabala was still caring for the children. The number had increased significantly. She and the children had been given an abandoned school in White City, Soweto. Fitted up with minimal materials and without electricity, the school was opened in March, 1999. Of the boys Cohen had photographed in 1994, a number still lived with Mabala. Cohen studied communication and art at the State University of New York.