There are many stories to tell from the Indian Ocean tsunami, which forever changed the region and its people five years ago.  The American Red Cross shares many of these stories through a powerful exhibit by photographer Daniel Cima called the "Faces of Recovery."  This photo is of Ibnu Abas who lost his 13 year-old son in the tsunami, along with his house, friends, and many neighbors in Indonesia.  The American Red Cross provided clean water and proper sanitation for Ibnu's new house and taught him how to fish more sustainably.  You can view the exhibition images here, read the Tsunami Recovery Program's five-year report here, and view the video, "The Road to Recovery" here.  

"The Road to Recovery" video includes some of the staggering statistics that also tell the story.  Over 230,000 people lost their lives in this disaster.  It is difficult to really get your mind around this number.  I must have heard this before, but it struck me HARD as I viewed the exhibition at a reception last month at Red Cross headquarters.  Taking this number and bringing it down to individual faces--those who lost loved ones--and sharing how they are rebuilding their lives creates tremendous feelings of hope and pride in the human spirit.........and wonder at the capacity and reach of the American Red Cross.  

The American Red Cross received $581 million in what was an unprecedented outpouring of generosity from donors worldwide.  These funds helped the American Red Cross provide direct relief assistance to more than 1.6 million people and emergency vaccinations for more than one million children.  Again, these figures are amazing, but what brings them home are the faces and stories of the people affected......like Cut Ummi Kaisum (also pictured above), who lost five of her six children and is now learning a new trade with support of the Red Cross in partnership with the Grameen Foundation.    

For more stories, also view Eric Porterfield's video of his visit to tsunami-affected Sri Lanka.

You may always donate directly to the American Red Cross and The Measles Initiative through ammado, a wonderful way to keep these programs strong and ready for humanitarian and disaster relief needs we share as a global community.