When we first met Duan Benkoski it was just days after her home country of Thailand was hit by a massive tsunami.

She said "I don't know how to says it's just like oh my gosh, oh my gosh how did this happen."

It's now four years later and Benkoski has returned to Thailand nearly every year since the disaster.

"Every year I go visit my cousin we talk about how people still fear and how business and everything never came back."

Benkoski used to live in the Phuket region of Thailand where the tsunami hit the hardest.

Benkoski's Cousin Kung still lives in Thailand and owned a beach side bar that was destroyed by the massive wall of water.

Kung has since rebuilt but, Benkoski says the decision to move on with the business was difficult.

"We have the both sides good and bad in what's going to happen but we had to try it because it's the only business she has, we built it together and have to run to make some living. It's hard."

Benkoski still visits Thailand nearly every year and she says great strides have been made in the past four years, but it's still not the same as she remembers.

"It's very slow, never same. People still fear. They try to build back hotels and stores and stuff like that it's nice, very clean and cleaned up a lot."

Benkoski remembers her childhood in Thailand and the hardships she faced.

That's why she now helps out school kids orphaned by the tsunami when she returns to her home country.

"When I was young I had nothing, and I try as much as I can to help people like that, because the school kids, it's tough when you don't have parents."

More than 225– thousand people died in the December 26th 2004 tsunami and left well over a million people displaced.

Benkoski is planning on returning to Thailand again, and she says the victims of the tidal wave still need financial help.