UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said it was an ''unprecedented global catastrophe'' that required an ''unprecedented global response''. And the world responded.

The wide ranging media coverage about the Asian Tsunami galvanized local, national and global action to come to the aid of communities and countries affected.

Going by the cumulative totals pledged and actually donated -- in cash and in kind -- this has become the greatest outpouring of spontaneous philanthropy in history.

National and international charities and humanitarian organisations recorded the largest donations received in response to a single incident of disaster or calamity.

The web helped many people to either donate online, or to find out more about who was doing what in disaster relief and rehabilitation -- leading to donation decisions.

Overall, more than US$ 6 billion was pledged in aid and donations. As the Inter Press Service noted, “For once in a natural disaster recovery programme the problem isn't too few dollars but rather too many.”

But has the money done what it was intended to do?

Has it reached the needy survivors?

The big challenge remains how to make the best use of this outpouring of generosity, to ensure that all tsunami affected people everywhere would benefit. As countless news media reports have documented, relief and aid distribution efforts have been hampered by physical, legal, bureaucratic and other barriers. Not everyone affected has received support in time or in equal terms.

Children of Tsunami is not a fact-ridden journalistic exercise. However, the personal stories of the children and families we document reflects the ground reality at least in their locations -- and indicates trends in some of the tsunami affected communities.

Click here for BBC article on the web helping tsunami donations

Click here for an online digest of NGO responses in Asia