Today marks 20 years since the massive Boxing day tsunami which caused widespread destruction, displacement and death in countries on the Indian Ocean rim. 

A 9.0 earthquake struck off the West Coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Boxing Day 2004. It triggers a series of tsunamis that charged across the Indian Ocean and killed around 230,000 people. 

Former World Vision Staffer Alex Snary was working at the time the tsunami hit and tells Tim Beveridge he has vivid memories of his arrival to the island and the “smell of decaying bodies.” 

“It wasn’t until you really got boots on the ground that I really began to understand the extent of the devastation. When in whole villages... there’s just nothing above knee-high or waist height left.” 

In the 20 years since, World Vision have stepped up their ability to respond to disasters of the scale of the 2004 tsunami.  

“When I first joined World Vision, there was kind of the ability to respond to one place in the world. When I left, we could respond to four or five if needed.” 

On how  the events of that day and all that followed changed the way he feels about the work he does, Snary says seeing the difference of an area when he left compared to its state upon his arrival reinforced just how important the work is. 

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