Since a Dec. 26 tsunami rocked parts of Asia, killing thousands and displacing about 2 million, stories have surfaced about human survival and tragedy, about boundless courage, compassion, loss and renewal.

The disaster severely impacted Habitat for Humanity staff, volunteers and homeowners living in the areas. While Habitat personnel themselves survived, so many other people, tragically, were not so lucky, losing their houses to be sure, but more importantly their fathers and mothers, their sisters, brothers, cousins and children.

Habitat staff and volunteers on the ground immediately began assessing and responding to the disaster.

For more than a month, they traveled throughout Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and Indonesia, encountering the very worst of circumstances and the very best in people. They witnessed suffering and survival, devastation, hope and heartache, laughter, promise, potential, human resilience and so much more.

In the following pages, you will meet the people behind some of those stories. You'll see their faces, and glimpse not only the fury Mother Nature can unleash, but also a human spirit whose buoyancy in the face of such adversity is itself unsinkable.