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In addition to the displayed art work chosen in open competition, the Embracing Our Differences Steering Committee sought permission to use this billboard image. We thought it touchingly illustrated our overall philosophy: love and respect for those different from ourselves can reveal remarkable, unforeseen commonalities.

Amid the human tragedy associated with the tsunami disaster, the rescue story of an orphaned baby hippopotamus named Owen in Malindi, East Africa provides an inspiring message for us all. When villagers freed the stranded Owen, Mzee, a 130 year old tortoise, subsequently "adopted" him, and they developed a close inter-species bond.

Obviously, terrestrial reptiles and giant river pigs are strange bedfellows indeed. However, despite questions about whether or not such animals are capable of thinking in human fashion the relationship of Owen and Mzee is a vivid, compelling tale. It reminds us how compassion and mutual need may bridge even the differences separating beings who inhabit totally different environments.
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