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The magnitude of the December 2004 tsunami disaster generated a massive outpouring of donations in support of the people affected. The media attention generated, combined with the magnitude of the funds involved, presented major challenges for organizations responding to this disaster. This paper draws primarily on a project in Tamil Nadu that utilized funds from a Canadian International Development Agency, as channeled through four churches in Canada to an Indian nongovernmental organization, to address the relief and rehabilitation challenges faced by 12 coastal villages. Specifically, the challenges of a transition from relief to development in these low-income fishing villages will be analyzed to assess whether this tsunami has had longer-term effects on how development assistance is transferred to deserving participants affected by low, unstable income as well as disaster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]