UNICEF and its partners' early assistance efforts saved and helped stabilize many young lives. They also helped pave the way for long-term improvements in Indonesia and other parts of the region that had been struggling well before disaster struck. In the course of rebuilding, with UNICEF’s help, many tsunami-affected areas have been able to build back better, in education, health care, sanitation and other services and related infrastructure. What started out as a humanitarian rescue mission 10 years ago has since evolved into a series of long-term programs of rehabilitation and sustainable development, with better standards and systems for the care and protection of children.