British Red Cross chief executive Sir Nicholas Young rolled up his sleeves in a recent visit to the Maldives and helped to dig the foundations of the islands' first homes.

The Red Cross is building more than 700 houses on six tsunami-affected islands as part of a £17 million reconstruction programme.

Working with the islanders, the British Red Cross team is also focusing on restoring people's livelihoods and improving their resilience in future disasters.

Nick's visit, ahead of the Boxing Day tsunami anniversary, was to assess the progress and challenges of the programme, which he admits are "complex".

"The team is doing a fine job in difficult circumstances. They are pushing this highly complex and testing project forward as fast as they can," he said.

Geography is the main challenge to working in the Maldives. The chain of tiny islands is 800km long - roughly the distance between London and the northern tip of Scotland. And with few natural resources, all construction materials have had to be shipped to the islands.

"Hundreds of items have to bought, shipped and stored on the islands, in the right quantities, to the required standards, and on time, across hundreds of miles of sea," Nick said.

When the tsunami struck many islands were flooded to a depth of more than ten feet, which has made it more difficult to identify land ownership.

However, Nick insisted the hard work and sweat has paid off:

"As we shovelled cement for the first of 44 houses on Fonadhoo island, and then 67 houses on Maabaidhoo, the families who will live in these houses helped us.

"Then they stood back speechless, and with tears in their eyes as they realised that the months of waiting were, if not over, at least approaching an end