Happy Year of the Ox! It's a New Year according to the Chinese lunar calendar. For many of the survivors of last year's devastating Sichuan earthquake the holidays have been a chance to celebrate but also a time of mourning for those who lost loved ones.

The earthquake claimed over 80,000 lives and destroyed the homes of up to 10 million people. It was the world's 19th deadliest earthquake on record. But for many, the New Year has also been a chance to celebrate new beginnings. Reconstruction is gathering pace and the region is buzzing with construction teams and trucks hauling in materials. I am in China working on a reconstruction project close to the epicenter where Operation Blessing is rebuilding the entire village of Yao Jin.

Construction of our adopted village is almost finished, all the structural work is complete and the only work that remains is plastering and painting. It will be the first village (in the county) to be completely rebuilt. The villagers will soon be able to move into their new homes and life will return to normal. But getting to this stage has not been an easy task.

The logistics involved have been immense and made more difficult by the high demand for construction materials. The winter cold has been ferocious and the villagers and construction teams have had to work in bitter conditions while still living in temporary shelters. And of course, building in one of the world's deadliest quake zones cannot be a rushed affair. The construction process could not even start until three months after the quake at the suggestion of government scientists who said the earth needed to settle. Even now we are feeling small, almost weekly aftershocks.

We have paid great attention to the design of the buildings and coordinated with a major engineering firm, which loaned us one of their Chinese engineers to oversee the entire project. After the quake there was a lot of talk about substandard construction materials leading to collapsed buildings. We have made it a point to test all materials that arrive on our site, this has calmed the nerves of the villagers and we are not taking any chances.

Last week at the world economic forum China's premier, Wen Jiabao, spoke of the "rather big impact" the global financial crisis was having on the nation's economy.

But in this time of financial instability for China, the influx of workers and materials has actually been beneficial for Sichuan with many villagers and local business owners telling me that business had never been so good!

Small hardware shops have opened everywhere selling every type of material, part and tool imaginable. The earthquake has created a construction industry that for the time being is helping the quake zone to fend off the financial crisis emerging in other parts of the country.

The financial crisis is causing Chinese factories to close at an alarming rate, forcing migrant workers out of jobs. Sichuan is one of the poorest provinces in China and has traditionally been one of the largest sources for migrant workers. Now many are choosing to stay at home and search out jobs on reconstruction projects. In fact, the construction boom is having an almost reverse affect with migrant workers from other provinces coming to Sichuan to work for the first time. Much of the labor force on our reconstruction project are the villagers themselves, many are usually migrant workers who have been able to stay home and work for the first time in years. This has been beneficial to them financially and psychologically since families have been able to stay together and heal after the disaster.

One of the things that has amazed me the most is the mental resilience of the villagers. They endured a living nightmare but have rebounded so well. Giving them the opportunity to focus on reconstruction has been a huge help, not only are they getting their homes back, they have been keeping busy each day and focused on the future.

Over a spicy Sichuan dinner I asked one of the villagers what the Ox represents for the New Year. "Prosperity" he said. I looked up the Chinese symbolism of the Ox online and one of the characteristics was very fitting: "The Ox is unswervingly patient, tireless in work, and capable of enduring any amount of hardship without complaint." The villagers have indeed endured the most unimaginable hardship but now through their hard work they will soon be living in brand new homes.

Click here to see a video about the women of Yao Jin who are working alongside the village men to rebuild their homes.

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