Michael Lang's life was irrevocably changed when his girlfriend of two years was swept away in the tsunami that claimed more than 200,000 lives on Boxing Day 2004.
Since then he has been using her memory to fight for a better quality of life for children in Thailand, establishing a charity with his girlfriend's sister to raise funds to build a school and finance scholarships.
Mr Lang, 30, had been holidaying on Koh Phi Phi, Thailand, with 25-year-old Hong Kong teacher Rubina Carmen Wong when the wave struck.
Mr Lang, a Canadian, refused to leave the devastated country without her - and his painstaking search through morgues and mass graves was followed closely by the media.
When he speaks of Wong, it is often in the present tense. 'She deserves better than that; to be buried in a mass grave. She's such an inspiration - and she'll be glad to know that people still care about her.'
Following her funeral, he returned to Hong Kong, his home of two years. 'Those were very dark days for me, but I knew inside that this couldn't just be it ... it wasn't finished - there had to be more.'