On December 26, 2004, a tsunami devastated Sri Lanka, claiming nearly 40,000 lives and displacing one million people. In the southern province of the country, the costal children hospital was destroyed and many nurses died in the tragedy. Three years later, much rebuilding remains to be done. As Faiza Elmasry tells us, efforts are underway not just to rebuild this hospital, but also to bring in modern technology, train medical staff and renovate Sri Lanka's health care system.  Read article

Colombo, Sri Lanka: United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon has voiced concern about the safety of aid workers in Sri Lanka after the murder of two Red Cross volunteers, his office said, as Japan's peace envoy began a visit to the war-battered island.  Read article

Chicago, USA: Building latrines and pig pens isn't exactly how most people want to spent their hollidays. However more and more are concidering voluntourism for the purpose of humanity as an alternative to relaxing at the beach.  Read article

Like many people, in the wake of the 2004 tsunami disaster Kimberley Sevcik had an urge to race to an affected region and help with the recovery efforts. She found that while the need was urgent then, there are still many ways to contribute to the rebuilding of communities affected by the disaster.   Read article

Peterborough, USA: Barbara Barr, a pensioner is bringing comfort to hundreds of children around the world by knitting teddy bears in front of the TV. She has already knitted 200 "trauma teds" that are shipped to countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.    Read article