It’s one year since the tsunami ravaged the coasts of South Asia. If you’d like to read about the initial relief effort, it’s fairly well documented in my blog. I originated the Stingy List, a PDF file listing the billion plus dollars donated to tsunami relief by Americans, individuals, businesses and groups.

The Financial Times had pointed out in a series that much of the money overseen by the United Nation is spent in overhead, or the UN is refusing to disclose its uses. I’d link, but the Financial Times hides behind a registration.

This point has come up in the past. In August, I answered the whining of a leftist aid group in my post titled Tsunami: Aid Use. In the post is a table, illustrating the moneys pledged by various governments, and delivered. The cites for the figures reveal that about half of the pledged moneys are for recovery and reconstruction over the next 3-5 years. Reconstruction doesn’t happen overnight.

In May, my post Tsunami: An Honest Charity featured the group Doctors Without Borders returning donations that they did not need. It also featured a list of links to various private charities’ efforts to date.

The problem with the Financial Times, with the media in general, is the expectation that the government is the solution. The dollars and hours pouring forth from private charities, mostly religious, are ignored despite the effect they are having. As a sometime libertarian, I’m not surprised by government corruption. Given 2000 plus years of written history, no one should be.

The notion that nothing is getting done, however, is false. It’s spread by politicians and those you live off the political trough. Mostly, the complaints mean that the complainer hasn’t gotten what he sees as his fair share of the graft.

And the left is getting its two cents in, too. Here’s a story from the Malaysia Star, where environmental groups are objecting to fishermen being given boats, because they might use them to go fishing. It’s their way of life, all they know, but since this group thinks fish stocks are depleted, they shouldn’t get the boats. The UN has agreed and is holding back on providing 2,400 boats it has.

As I have pointed out before, government planning or lack thereof, is also contributing to the appearance of no progress. Most of the governments in the region have plans to restrict rebuilding on the coast, and to improve the structures of those buildings that are built. In addition, you are dealing with regions where property titles and such are little known and less honored. ABC reports:Permanent shelter has lagged in no small part because of political and legal wrangles over land allocation.

Indonesia had no coordination agency for tsunami aid until April, leaving aid groups to determine their own projects. Uncertainty over government plans - later dropped - to prevent building along the coastline as a safety measure only added to the confusion.

The Indian state of Tamil Nadu also tried to discourage rebuilding by the beach in case of another tsunami. People that rebuild within 200 meters of the high-tide mark forfeit their right to over $3,000 in government reconstruction aid, a move that has angered fishermen.

Sri Lanka has also proposed relocating affected fishing villages inland, a move that social activists say is more about acquiring land for tourist development than helping coastal communities.

“The [coastal] buffer zones are obviously designed to clear such areas for tourist development. [Otherwise] how come the tourist hotels in the zones could repair and restart work immediately?” asks Sarath Fernando, moderator for the Movement for National Land and Agricultural Reform.

The government in Colombo says it’s reviewing the buffer zone, and argues that tourism brings benefits to local communities. “I don’t think we are going to displace people for the sake of creating zones,” says Prathap Ramanujam, secretary to the Ministry of Tourism. “Our policy is to ensure that the local community in an area develops through tourism too.”

Here’s a story from New Zealand about a private effort that succeeded.Sri Lanka Association – and Sri Lankans resident in Taranaki – had raised about $270,000. The Government – through funding agency NZAid – chipped in $180,000.

It left the association flush with cash but unsure where to spend it. Spokesman Chula Rajapakse, a Lower Hutt doctor, says there were plenty of options, but little agreement.

Apart from some immediate emergency relief, the association wanted to see the money spent on permanent homes, and by an organisation that could be held accountable by New Zealanders who had given so generously. Venamulla – chosen at random – fitted the bill nicely.

The association sent Sarvodaya all but $80,000 of the money (the rest went to Unicef). It was enough money to build about 60 homes, while Sri Lankan businessman Nihal Ranasinghe, an uncle of an association member, tapped connections in the United States and Britain for funds to rebuild the rest.

The villagers then went to work. At the local level, all Sarvodaya workers are volunteers, and 120 of the village were members. However, everyone chipped in, members or not, to rebuild their homes.

In a country where skilled labour and building materials are at a premium, due mainly to competition between aid agencies, Venamulla chose to look to itself. Virtually all the labour, and the materials for the concrete block homes with tile roofs, were sourced locally. A small amount of timber was brought in from elsewhere. The 50 square metre homes – built to a design from Sarvodaya’s head office – cost about 600,000 rupees (NZ$8000) each. Those who worked on their own homes were paid a small amount for their efforts.

The rainy season held up progress during the middle of the year, which also meant problems using local river sand for the concrete. However, it was a small bump on an otherwise smooth road for the villagers.

They had extra incentive to finish. Most were living in temporary shelters made of wood salvaged from the rubble. Many of these still stand – they will be used as kitchens – and are little more than shacks.

And finish they have. They have also – using other funds – rebuilt a primary school and Montessori preschool. The “half-damaged” houses will be rebuilt when the villagers can raise more money.

Here in the United States, in our own, very wealthy land, people are living in tents along the Gulf Coast. Governments at all levels have fought for their own shares of the billions being spent. Somehow, over 40 states were declared disaster areas as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, despite the storms never having reached most of them.

Don’t expect the governments of South Asia, many of which are corrupt or fighting internal battles against terror, to do better than we can. But, looking at the record, it is clear that progress is being made. Mostly where the government isn’t involved, but being made none the less.