From Sir Nick Young, chief executive, British Red Cross.
FIVE years ago this Boxing Day the Asian tsunami unleashed a wave of almost unimaginable human suffering. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives and millions were left struggling to survive a disaster the like of which none of us had ever seen.

The Red Cross was helping people on the ground within minutes of the wave striking and, in the UK, we launched an appeal to support the aid effort.

Support from the public was phenomenal and enabled us to mount our largest relief operation since the Second World War.

Across the country, donations poured in from those who, moved by scenes of ordinary people battling to survive, gave whatever they could.

The challenges were unprecedented, the decisions incredibly difficult, but today I am extremely proud of what the Red Cross has achieved in helping to rebuild people’s lives and, more than that, building them back stronger.

On behalf of the Red Cross and the millions of people we were able to help, I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported us. It has been a long road to recovery, but now, five years on, our work is completed. Thousands of families have been rehoused, sustainable livelihoods have been secured and communities are recovering, more resilient than they have ever been.

To find out more about how the money you gave has been used and the difference it has made to people’s lives, visit www.recoveringafuture.org.uk.