One year ago, from across the deep waters of the Indian Ocean, it came larger than life, and then it left with precious lives. There were warning signs that the largest earthquake in 40 years had just split open the earth's surface. But there was also little time to act as the resulting tsunami, carrying waves that moved up to 800 kilometres an hour, roared towards shorelines in Asia and as far as East Africa.

Ten-year-old Tilly Smith was among the people who recognized something terrible was about to happen.

"I saw this bubbling on the water, right on the edge, and foam sizzling just like in a frying pan," she told reporters when she visited the United Nations in November. There, she was honoured for her part in saving 100 people.

As the story goes, the Smith family had gone for a stroll along the beach near a resort in Phuket, Thailand on the morning of December 26, 2004. Two weeks prior, Tilly had studied tsunamis in her geography class in Oxshott, a small town south of London, England. To complement their lesson, the students watched video footage of smaller-scale tsunamis.

So the frothy water Tilly witnessed on the beach days later was a foreboding. She knew waves triggered from an earthquake were only minutes away.

She told her mother, "Mum, I know there's something wrong. I know it's going to happen — the tsunami." When her mother dismissed the warning, Tilly reacted. Her father later recalled she went "hysterical," prompting him to return to the hotel with her 8-year-old sister. There, he relayed the warnings to staff at the JW Marriott Phuket Resort and Spa.

Two employees spread the word and the beach was evacuated minutes before the waves hit. Media later reported that beach was one of the few in Phuket where people were spared from death or serious injury.

Too many others were not as fortunate. Estimates of the dead ranged between 230,000 and 275,000 in 13 countries. Hardest hit were regions in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, southern India, the Maldives, Thailand and Somalia. In the aftermath, five million people needed humanitarian assistance as entire communities were decimated. Surviving citizens lost their relatives, their homes and their livelihoods.

Coming to the aid

The global reaction spurred the biggest ever aid operation. Within days of the disaster, governments in developed countries pledged their donations, which were essentially non-binding promises of humanitarian and/or reconstruction aid. Some of these donors gave through the United Nations, others through non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and others by way of bi-lateral aid direct to another government.

Canada stepped up by committing itself to the recovery of some of the worst affected areas. The plan earmarked CAD 425 million over five years. Of this amount, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) manages $383 million. Twenty-three NGOs participating in the government of Canada's Matching Funds Program raised another $213 million thanks to the contributions of compassionate Canadians.

Days into the humanitarian response, the generosity spread with the swiftness of a global epidemic, its unprecedented proportions a reflection of mere goodwill. Within nine months, international donations topped $11 billion.

The UN emergency co-ordinator Jan Egeland told Reuters, "Donors are honouring their promises and the money not yet paid was, by and large, always pledged for longer-term reconstruction, which will take years."

Critical rebuilding efforts

Along with the positive response came the problems that would plague any recovery effort of such great magnitude. Most critical of the challenges were the news reports that ran throughout the world about the slow pace of humanitarian aid for people in dire need of clean drinking water, food, shelter and sanitation.

When Bill Clinton, the UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, arrived in Sri Lanka last month to review recovery work, the accusations leveled against the country's government painted a dismal picture of the progress.

"Thousands of permanent houses have already been built for tsunami survivors," Oxfam director, Barbara Stocking told reporters about reconstruction in Sri Lanka. "But until new land is provided for those made homeless, the rebuilding process will be too slow."

According to the director, many homes have not been rebuilt because under coastal buffer zones, they are too close to the sea. Oxfam said the Sri Lankan government had, in some cases, provided land deemed inappropriate — such as fishing communities being offered land too far away from the sea. Some news reports described hoteliers and fishermen as defying the government's 100-metre coastal buffer zone. Many guesthouses and hotels were reported to have already rebuilt on the shoreline.

Another challenge revolves around the volatile 2002 cease-fire accord between the Sinhalese government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). On November 18, Mahinda Rajapakse claimed the presidential win with 50.3 percent of the nation's vote. Observers say it's crucial for the new government to reach a permanent peace deal with the LTTE, which have been embroiled in a two-decade bid for a separate homeland in the island's north and east regions.

Sri Lanka's tea and textile exporting economy depends on an agreement, but most crucial is the aid-sharing pact for tsunami recovery. In June, the two sides agreed to share $3 billion worth of tsunami aid. International donors held tight to their hopes of an aid-sharing pact. Such a deal might help secure renewed talks and end the long-standing war, which has claimed over 60,000 lives. In the mean time, reports are abound of patience wearing thin among tsunami survivors who are still living in tents, waiting for a move to permanent homes and not the transitional shelters, which some described as mere huts.

Saving children as always

Despite the high drama making big headlines in news reports, small-scale progress is going a long way in Sri Lanka. Save The Children Canada, a Toronto-based NGO, has managed to reach close to 12 per cent of the affected population in the country's provinces Batticaloa, Ampara and Jaffna.

Initiatives such as the January 6 fundraising partnership with FLOW 93.5 further helped the organization increase its assistance to children affected by the tsunami. Held in Toronto's downtown TD Centre, SCC and the urban music radio station raised $99,375 - easily surpassing their goal of 93,500. The success further solidified the organization's reputable mandate of helping children.

Working in Sri Lanka since 1974, Save The Children Canada (SCC) operates five offices in the north and the east, one in the southern province and another in the north central province. Its mission has been to help children survive by tending to their health, education and economic needs in times of acute crisis, as well as part of long-term, self-sustaining development.

With its Sri Lankan staff predominantly made up of local employees, SCC managed to avoid the media's spotlight on what hasn't been achieved in the tsunami aftermath. Instead, the organization remained focused on accomplishing critical tasks such as registering over 5,200 unaccompanied children, reuniting them with their families and communities.

Sri Lanka's best and brightest (the majority of the country's students) were also back in school within 90 days of the December 26 disaster. SCC provided 14,000 children with secondary notes to sit for their O and A level exams. SCC reports providing extra classes for 11,000 students. Also over tens of thousands back-to-school kits containing books and stationery were donated to young learners.

SCC's immediate relief project in Sri Lanka was developed in partnership with CIDA. Supported with $188,000 of grant funding, the organization operated debris clearing and shelter rebuilding projects in its three regions of involvement.

Taking CARE

To ensure children and their families remain involved in their own recovery, SCC and other organizations like CARE Canada hone their years of experience by listening keenly at community gatherings where needs are described and solutions are suggested. But the tsunami was instrumental in the transformation of many these communities, turning their make-up inside out for years to come.

"There are various reasons why more women perished," says Cindy Issac about the devastation in Aceh — a special territory on the northern tip of the island Sumatra that's about a 2 1/2-hour flight from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. Issac is CARE Canada's program manager and has traveled a few times to Aceh and the north west island of Simeulue. She elaborates on CARE's involvement, since 1968, with the Indonesian population. Its workers are now witnessing some significant changes of long-term effect, since the tsunami claimed over 130,000 Indonesians.

"In Aceh Besar, this was the most hard hit area," she explains, referring to an Oxfam survey that reports the ratio of men to women as 3 to 1. "When the first wave of the tsunami hit, fish washed up on the shore as the water receded. A lot of women and children went out...to gather them when the second wave came, to their detriment."

Many of the Achenese men were already out to sea fishing when the waves crashed on to the shores. Women, remaining in their near-coastal homes with the children didn't stand much chance, as they weren't strong swimmers. The result of such a transformation is a community on the mend, as pregnancies become part of the rebuilding process. However, health care providers also perished in large numbers, setting off a shortage of medical professionals. Expectant mothers are receiving antenatal care and family planning services as CARE's Indonesian staff (of about 850 local workers) rebuild four community health centres along with improving health clinics in 25 villages.

Praising a tentative peace

"The government, in all levels, they've opened up the country to all agencies. There was a 30-year conflict in Aceh. It was precarious for about 2 1/2 years prior to the tsunami," says Issac.

She's referring to what's been called the socio-cultural divide between Aceh and the rest of Indonesia. Under the New Order regime of past president Haji Mohamed Suharto (1965-1998), many Achenese who practiced a more orthodox form of Islam rejected the secular and nationalist Indonesian culture.

The struggle over Aceh's natural resources has also exacerbated the differences between both sides. Aceh possesses one of Indonesia's largest reserves of oil and natural gas, and multinational corporations such as the American-owned and Texas-based Exxon Mobil have maintained production on the island. The foreign presence has fuelled charges by the Achenese that benefits reaped from resources largely go to the Jakarta and foreign corporations, at the expense of the region's local population.

The differences led to Achenese movements for greater autonomy or complete secession as pushed by the Free Aceh Movement, also known as GAM, founded in 1976. The conflict between the Indonesian government and GAM has been cyclical over the years with intense fighting and periods of lull, leading to a cease-fire agreement in 2000. But in May 2003, military law was extended as reports turned the world's attention to an invasion and occupation of Aceh by Indonesia's military. Over 100,000 people were displaced under the military rule and killings garnered calls for intervention from human rights groups.

"From less than 10 agencies in Aceh to over 400 overnight when the tsunami hit," says Issac. "It showed the spirit of the government in responding to the needs of the people. We've established a good partnership with the government." The program manager adds there's hope the two sides will remain at the negotiating table in this post-tsunami recovery time.

"In terms of the peace process, any peace agreement to allow access to humanitarian response is a positive thing for all of us." Issac explains CARE Canada has access it never had before; the change led to an increase of its staff of national workers to 650 for a Recovery of Livelihood program in three regions — Banda Aceh, Aceh Besar and Simeulue island.

Another initiative launched by CARE Canada and the local governments is a market-based food program. "Many people don't have a source of income," says Issac. "And food is still needed. CARE provides people with cash and vouchers to buy food at local markets from marked vendors. It's to help the local vendors and to sustain their livelihoods, which contributes to them rebuilding the economy," she says.

No where is collective participation more crucial than in the rebuilding of homes. In Simeulue, an island off Sumatra's northwest coast, lives were spared during the tsunami when the mainly rural population ran for higher ground. Still, tragedy struck three months later.

On March 28, 2005, another earthquake rocked the islands, killing 1,300 people and flattening homes that were in the process of being rebuilt in Aceh and Simeulue.

"To date, CARE has spent about $23 million — $16.3 million in Aceh alone."

That's $16.3 million of a USD 23 million overall budget for CARE Issac says.

"CIDA's contribution to CARE Canada's tsunami recovery is about $4.3 million, which includes funds to India. About $250,000 to India and the majority to Aceh."

Mapping out designs and livelihoods

John Van Nostrand, president of the Planning Alliance, speaks about his work in helping the Achenese and the people of Simeulue build better, as they requested.

"We're well advanced. We've built up to 8,000 housing units in Banda Ache and on the island of Simeulue we're working on 100 houses under construction now," says Van Nostrand in a telephone interview from Aceh. While he's set to return to Canada later that day, he says the plan is to develop 3,000 homes in Simeulue.

"A lot of people don't realize it's not about building homes. It's about building communities," he explains. The Planning Alliance, a Toronto firm of architects, was commissioned by CARE Canada to do just that — help people restore their livelihoods by stimulating the construction industry, which in turn, provides a range of jobs for the local survivors currently without income.

The work can also help survivors regain their power— perhaps a forward step in helping those deal with the psychological trauma of losing so much in the tsunami and the March earthquake.

"We're building starter homes, much like the houses of WWII, the war-time housing of 300 to 400 square feet, easy design buildings that were erected for returning veterans in Canada," says Van Nostrand. His firm has worked consistently in Canada and in African countries like Ghana, Angola and Burkina Faso since 1978.

The plan for the Achenese housing is to provide survivors a frame with which they can later expand to further accommodate their growing families — a plan pulled together by the Achenese, the Indonesian governments and Van Nostrand's CARE team.

"Building homes is not the issue," says this architect. "It's part of it. There's the question of where people are going to rebuild, the issue of safety and planning, ownership of land, access to services and housing.

"The international response to global disasters like this paints a global layer over everything and sometimes it doesn't let the local situation shine through," says van Nostrand "It's a process, not a product. It will take time." W

Produced with the support of the Canadian International Developlment Agency (CIDA).

In Part 2 of the Tsunami Recovery series, more from the Canadian teams on global expectations for rebuilding and what the humanitarian response reflected about aid relief.