During the recent months following the disaster, progress in terms of the rehabilitation of the island's people has been very slow. There has been little or no rebuilding of homes on the shoreline, and this is owed mainly to the fear of another tsunami striking. For now, the tents donated by Unicef, Oxfam, and many other charities are acting as the peoples' homes. Where once there was jungle, now the people have organised themselves and built up habitable areas on the hillside, which are all reachable by road. Schools and churches have been established under large tarpaulins, and these form the community centres for these settlements.

Trade recommenced in the town fairly quickly, and food was never short thanks to the kindness of neighbouring countries such as New Zealand and Australia. Reports say that the economy has of course suffered massively, and this will take years to repair. For now the people must rely on the dwindling aid flow and what food the jungle and damaged reefs can yield.

However, since the forming of the fund we have been able to direct all the money donated into the island, and we hope in the next few weeks, building will commence on the old village sites. The people are keen to leave the mud and mosquitoes of the jungle behind and settle back down on the beaches, but every time an aftershock shakes the ground, their confidence is shattered.

We have estimated that the money raised so far will completely fund the rebuild of at least two of the villages which were wiped out, which is fantastic progress. The main expense in the rebuilding process will be the purchase of cutting implements such as saw benches and chainsaws for the preparing of the stilts for the houses. Before the disaster, this would have been done by hand, as there would only ever be one house being built at one time. However as there need to be hundreds built, this faster mechanical method is the only option.

We are very thankful for all those who have made donations so far, as the money simply gives these people the chance they need to get their lives back on track. The chief of one village has even asked me to pass on his hearty thanks for all the incredible support they have received!

But of course the process will take months or even years yet to complete, and so I ask for your continued support in the project. Some photos of life after the disaster have been added to this site.

Thank you.