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Photo captions: SAVIOUR: Nizma with a photo of the orphans she helped save; DISASTER: Paroy village had been decimated by the Boxing Day tsunami, above, when Nizma and aid team arrived in January 2005, right. But her tireless efforts down the years have led to the building of a new orphanage, below, which provided a lifeline to children like these boys, far right; STUDENT: Among the many young girls helped by the orphanage is Nina, below, now Inset, with Nizma in 2007

Nizma Scoffield boarded a flight to Indonesia just three weeks after the disaster.

The orphanage she set up, in the village of Paroy in Lhoong, Indonesia, initially housed 50 children who lost their families in the Boxing Day tsunami.

The Indonesian-born mother-of-two came to Britain 34 years ago and married an Englishman but returned home to help some of the 30,000 children left orphaned in the tragedy.

After flying out in January 2005, she was shocked to see dead bodies piled next to rubble.

She said: "It was devastating. I couldn't even cry the first time I got there - the destruction and the damage was massive.

"We tried to entertain the orphans by singing together, drawing and giving them presents and books. When I heard them laugh it nearly broke my heart."

Nizma moved 50 of the children - 30 boys and 20 girls - into a rented house while she searched for land to build them a home.

"They were scared by water and the sound of rain and had nightmares when they slept," she said.

It cost around £3,000 to buy 8,000 square metres of land and another £85,000 to build the orphanage that stands there today.

Nizma said: "The money came mostly from communities in England - the response was just amazing. Everyone's heart was torn by the plight of the children.

"I would travel back from Asia to talk about Indonesia and the children there and to raise more money to build the children a home and keep them clothed and fed."

Ten years later Nizma's orphans have headed off across Indonesia.

One, Nina, was just ten years old when, clinging to a coconut tree, she watched as her mother was swept away by the tsunami.

Rescued and taken in by a team of charity workers, she spent her teenage years at the orphanage and is now studying at university.

Aged 18, she now lives in the regional capital of Aceh - but is still terrified by earthquakes.

Nizma said: "When I saw her again I just stared at her in amazement. She looks so grown up and tall, I just wanted to hug and kiss her.

"Nina loves maths, physics and chemistry, as well as economics and religious studies.

"She tells me she wants to become a psychologist, to better help her people in the future."

The orphanage survives thanks to donations of around £600 a month which provides food, shelter and tuition.

Nizma, who lives in Bromley, south London, is now raising funds for a new generation of homeless children in Indonesia who she visits every six months.

And she dreams of setting up a business for the orphans in the village so they can work and earn money to sustain themselves.

She said: "Over the past ten years everything has changed, the US aid came and rebuilt the road, the houses that were destroyed have been rebuilt and people have started working and trading again.

"Some of the orphanages are empty now, the funding has decreased so much that charities can't afford them."

She added: "We would love to invite more children to study and give them a good future - we would like to be a campus for young people to come and study."

For more details and how to donate, see chariots4 children. org