In 1964 an extraordinary man started an extraordinary project. Jean Vanier, an ex-naval officer, and son of a Governor General of Canada, bought a small house in a village to the north of Paris and invited three men with mental disabilities to share it with him. This was the beginning of l'Arche (The Ark), a special form of community where people who are often rejected and despised by this world can develop their potential to the fullest.