A year has now passed since the 26 th December 2004, the day on which a terrible freak wave – the tsunami – hit and devastated Southeast Asian coastlines, spreading death and destruction. 

The Community of Sant'Egidio was close by the affected populations during the immediate aftermath of the tsunami with emergency aid , and following on this with reconstruction projects , which were concentrated especially in the south of India and in Indonesia .

In the course of this year, thanks to a huge impulse of solidarity, the Community has been able to make tangible contributions in many of these situations. Thanks to the presence of Sant'Egidio Communities in the localities, whether in India or in Indonesia , we were among the first to arrive with help, and we have sought to provide sustained support to help re-start life in the affected areas.

Today, a year after the tragedy, many of the aid projects have been carried through to completion . Meanwhile our presence alongside the affected populations continues: 8 schools have been completely restored (4 in India and 4 in Indonesia) ; fishing has been restarted in the villages of Tamil Nadu , over 500 children have received sponsorship from afar, thousands of people in the most inaccessible villages on the Nias Isles have received aid; the reconstruction of schools and of entire villages has been set in motion . Many other interventions of assistance, both large and small, could be added: teacher training, the acquisition of means of mobility, or of tools to recommence a trade, aids for the disabled. Many people who the tsunami had deprived of house, effects, and often of their physical health, are now able to pick up their lives once more, to look with hope to the future. In addition, through the programme “ Let's Adopt a School in South-East Asia ”, it has been possible to bring assistance to areas bordering on the tsunami-affected zone, where poverty is endemic and acute.

The aid projects were carried through in three phases: following on from those of emergency and medium-term support, we are today in the midst of the reconstruction phase. The Community is active in 6 villages in Tamil Nadu; and one of these, Singithurai, is to be entirely rebuilt . In Banda Aceh , too, the area hit most heavily by the tsunami, construction has begun of a school to serve three villages ; the original destroyed by the tidal wave.