There have been many other challenges - and, one year on, they continue. Materials are often in short supply or offered at inflated prices. Bricks may be poorly fired and blocks insufficiently cured. Skilled labor can be hard to find and may require additional training to learn to build to standard; the stepped-up pace and efficiency needed are difficult to achieve.

Here's where Habitat for Humanity's strengths came to the fore. Field staff had the skills and the authority to design locally-appropriate solutions, and they recognized the importance of including communities in decision making. House designs were planned for "buildability" as well as structural integrity and community approval.

In India, the initail emphasis was less on building replacement houses from scratch and more on repairs and renovations of damaged houses, and rebuilding houses to strengthen their resistance to natural disasters. Periodic audits by internal and external experts have introduced improvements in financial systems and construction quality.

As the strategy evolved, the building plan was developed on a fast track. Key to the success of the program is the network of resource centers that provide benefits to communities and individuals. At Habitat centers located close to build sites, Habitat and its partners make blocks, roof tiles, roof trusses, doors and frames for doors and windows. Many of the workers lost their livelihood in the tsunami; now they face the future with new skills and an income.

The Habitat resource center concept also encompasses training for construction workers and supervisors, which is now frequently delivered on the work site, but in future may be part of a menu of services that includes training in disaster mitigation available to whole communities.

Volunteerism is a hallmark of the regular Habitat program that through the tsunami response has been adapted in innovative ways to meet the needs of disaster operations. Immediately after the disaster, Habitat affiliates in India and Sri Lanka mobilized volunteers to join the relief effort. They recovered bodies, cleaned wells and put up tents.

Next came First Builders, experienced in construction and ready to "rough it" who were prepared to do whatever was asked whether renovations, repairs or new-house construction.

As field conditions stabilized, international Global Village teams and corporate groups joined. Individual volunteers have included specialists in architecture, engineering, logistics and project management.

The post-disaster environment is unsettled and prone to sudden changes, yet, applying long-held principles, Habitat has helped thousands of people regain normalcy in their lives.

Reconstructing houses after a disaster is not new for Habitat for Humanity; its experience included a housing response to hurricanes Mitch in Latin America and Andrew in the United States as well as post-conflict rebuilding in Afghanistan and East Timor. With the tsunami, this year's hurricanes in the USA, and now the October earthquake in Pakistan, providing permanent shelter in the aftermath of disasters has become a major focus of Habitat's ongoing work: post-disaster reconstruction is now a key component of the organization's new five-year strategic plan. As the first year of Habitat's tsunami response ends, the programs in India and Indonesia are hitting a stride with more opportunities to work in new communities. In Thailand and Sri Lanka, the transition to regular program is beginning. The built-up capacity with tsunami-affected communities will carry over to areas where communities have been overlooked in the rebuilding process.