Life Carries on

Nate says he felt a kinship with all the people in Sri Lanka who, he says, are very resilient.

"It was a veneer of survival that I think everyone has when they've experienced something like that, but it wasn't wafer thin," Nate says. "It was living life again with a sense of purpose, a sense of forgiveness for having survived."

Part of Nate's mission was also to report back on the progress of Oprah's Angel Network's tsunami projects, led by three international charities. Mercy Corps is helping small businesses get back on their feet and boost local tourism. When the tsunami hit, there were only five hotels left standing. One year later, there are 42 hotels and 53 restaurants.

Thanks to Mercy Corps, this 70-year-old widow can run her tea shop on the beach, serving breakfast to fishermen. And a baker whose shop was flattened is back baking 600 loaves of bread a day.