I watched a program on TV about the survivors of the tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. I noticed how resilient the people are. There are still miles and miles of 2-meter-high rotting rubble that needs to be cleared so the people can start seriously rebuilding. Many people have left the area to inland villages because they have nowhere to stay and are awaiting the time when they can safely return.

In the meantime there are a number of people who refuse to leave and are determined to continue working hard to clear the devastated area and rebuild their lives again in that place. It is slow, heavy work and the rubble is being moved by hand. International aid has not yet arrived to help remove the rubble.

In the course of this program I saw an interview with an old woman. She had become a kind of mother figure to many of the orphan children and youth who were saved from the tsunami and had lost their families.

She looked very old but also very calm, like she had a lot of inner strength. I thought, how special she is! What she said was translated and so I understood what she wanted to say. She was telling the young people to be responsible and not to think only about themselves; that true and lasting survival depended on everyone working together to build up the community again.

It must be wonderful to have such fine and wise old people in your community: people you can look up to, depend on, and emulate. The young people around her seemed to love and respect her a lot. In some ways I envied them (their harmony and solidarity) despite their obvious hardship. They kept their houses and living areas extremely clean and tidy. It was amazing to see the land having been cleared and wooden houses built on top of it. The grass was short and things looked so organized and homely. Imagine in a disaster area, things could actually look warm and inviting. I guess it is the people more than the place. The test of survival is when you not only stay alive, but that you can rebuild your life and help others to rebuild theirs.

How many such people are there around the world? Maybe they are hidden away in jungles, in deserts, in huge urban areas, in a bungalow at the back of someone's house—people like her are the unnoticed, the undervalued of the world. I commend the BBC journalist that recognized her wisdom, nobility, and value, and so interviewed and filmed her.

Obviously there are many special people in the world, but what do we do if we come in front of someone like that—face-to-face? It seems to be a human trait that often people tend to look for and see the negative qualities and so undermine the good and special qualities that exist. Your own parent, teacher, or neighbour could be one of those special people but sometimes we are too blind or too stubborn or too biased to see the reality.

I wonder what the world would be like if people stopped being afraid that someone might actually know more than you, be better than you (in some ways), have more wealth, contacts, positions, or experience than you! Can mankind stop fearing each other and wishing to be the best—the most important—so we can get on with the important things in life like getting to know people and what they think, how they feel, and what they dream. After we manage to do that then perhaps we can start rebuilding our lives in this tattered old world whether we are living in a jungle, a forest, a ghetto, a boring suburban area, or a palace. Everyone gets lonely sometimes. Everyone feels frustrated and lost sometimes. And we always need each other.

The funny thing is that if you were to meet this old woman from Banda Aceh and open up to her—she just might turn around to you and say, “You are one of the special people of the world!” And she just might be right!