When a giant killer wave created by an earthquake off the Indonesian coast swept into Sri Lanka the day after Christmas in December 2004, more than 35,000 people lost their lives, more than 100,000 homes along the coast were destroyed and for the hundreds of thousands of survivors, the word t-tsunami was etched into memory as a new horror never to be forgotten. Following the massive destruction left behind by the 2004 Indian Ocean T-tsunami in Sri Lanka, UN-HABITAT assisted the reconstruction of nearly 10,000 homes and community infrastructure. The agency also provided the government with technical support in coordination of the housing sector. At the heart of the agency's successful efforts was the “People's Process” where communities were given ownership of the recovery, and brought together in building better, sustainable communities. This book aims to highlight the success of the thousands who rebuilt their lives and provide a reference of approaches, methodology and lessons learnt for post-disaster recovery.