Collaboration in crises - Lessons in community participation from the Oxfam International tsunami research program

The Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004 was a disaster of epic proportions, and the humanitarian response that followed was extraordinary in its speed and magnitude. Aid providers and communities on the ground achieved enormous successes, averting disease epidemics, ensuring that the people affected quickly received essential relief, and rebuilding communities with improved housing and infrastructure, as well as helping expand the roles and opportunities for women and girls. The scale of the disaster also magnified weaknesses in humanitarian practice—shortcomings that get to the heart of the relationship between aid providers and those they aim to assist. Looking back over the past four years, there is cause to celebrate successes in the tsunami response, and cause for serious reflection on how to improve the way we do our work.