One completed house...how many more are needed?

I have just received this picture from Hwee Kiang, a good friend of mine who works with Habitat for Humanity Singapore. It's a picture of one of the completed houses which my team helped to build during our short one-week house-building trip in July this year to Tibang Village, Banda Aceh, Indonesia. (Banda Aceh was one of the worst hit areas by the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004.)

It has been a year since the terrible tragedy which swept away so many people's lives, families, homes and dreams. Habitat, like many other charitable organisations, has poured in much manpower and resources into the reconstruction efforts of the tsunami-striken areas. Yet, so much more remains to be done. My wish for the tsunami survivors this Christmas is that they will find serenity, peace, calm and stability in their lives.